By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba, has tasked the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to do more in revenue collection to boost financial profile of the federal government.
Agba said “the reward for hard work is more work” and like Oliver Twist, Nigerians were asking that “you do more; the government is asking that you do more, and I am asking that you do more,” adding “I assure you of the government’s unflinching support as you make taxation the mainstay of government’s funding.”
The minister spoke at a management retreat organised by the FIRS in Lagos on Thursday, with the theme: “Consolidating on the Gains of the FIRS Reforms: 2019 to Date.”
Agba, who praised the service for achieving its revenue target for the year 2021, with over 100% revenue target and crossing N6.405 trillion tax revenue threshold for the first time in the revenue history of the country, noted that “the thrilling aspect of the achievement lies in the fact that almost 70% of the collection came from non-oil sources.”
He commended the board, management and staff of the Service for supporting the economic growth initiative of the government, positing that the ability of the Service to bring innovations into tax administration which had boosted government revenues and enhanced ease of doing business in Nigeria was worthy of commendation.
The minister stressed that every aspect of the national development – security, infrastructure, social services, business-enabled environment, depended on the national budget and the ability of the government to provide these itself depended on available revenue.
“The onerous task of generating the required revenue rests squarely on the shoulders of the FIRS,” he said.
Agba said the revenue profile of the government had been seriously challenged in recent times due to multiple factors.
Read him: “Given that resources are relatively low compared to the huge responsibilities of the government, concerted efforts are required at this juncture to prioritize government expenditure as well as place emphasis on resource mobilization.
“In this context, the task of improving Nigeria’s tax revenue collection and funding position is urgent and it is a task that must be done without fail.
“Recent happenings in the global economy is compelling nations to shift from dependence on resource wealth, particularly hydrocarbons to more innovative sources for revenue mobilization.
“As the campaign for cleaner energy gains momentum and widespread support, it is resulting in lower new investments in exploration and production activities in the upstream petroleum industry.
“For instance, aggregate investment declined from $525bn in 2019 to $341bn in 2021 while investment in wind, solar and other renewable sources is soaring.”
Agba assured Nigerians that the federal government had put in place the Strategic Revenue Growth Initiative (SRGI) and the annual Finance Act to mobilize domestic funds necessary for human capital and infrastructure development that were both drivers and enablers of sustainable economic growth and development.
According to him: “The SRGI is designed to improve government revenue and entrench fiscal prudence with emphasis on achieving value for money.
“In this regards, a total of 47 Strategic Revenue Growth Initiatives were identified across three thematic areas to achieve sustainability in revenue generation, identify new revenue streams and enhance the enforcement of existing ones as well as achieve cohesion in the revenue ecosystem.
“Within the SRGI initiative, FIRS was saddled with some deliverables which include (i) Improving Tax Collections, (ii) Closing Legal Loopholes, (iii) Broadening the Tax Base, (iv) Expanding and Improving VAT, (v) Improving Tax Compliance, (vi) Aligning Stakeholders on a Single Purpose, etc.
“These initiatives, we believe, have been largely achieved through the internal reforms you have introduced and the incremental changes to the tax laws via the annual Finance Act.
“I encourage the Service to fully align its strategies, policies and practices to fully achieve its deliverables under the SRGI.”
He said to grow the economy on an inclusive basis and achieve sustainable economic development, President Muhammadu Buhari had to launch the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2025 in December 2021.
According to him, the NDP contained three volumes with volume 1 focusing on the policies with targets and the required investment; Volume II having the costed priority programmes and projects; while Volume III has the legal and legislatives imperatives, which included the enabling laws that needed to be passed or amended for effective implementation of the NDP, 2021-2025.
“The Plan seeks to invest massively in infrastructure, ensure macroeconomic stability, enhance the investment environment and improve on social indicators and living conditions of the people.
“Specifically, the Plan aims to generate 21 million full-time jobs and lift about 35 million people out of poverty by 2025 thus setting the stage for achieving the president’s commitment of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.”
Agba believed that the country could achieve these targets through an inclusive economic growth and development; leveraging its young workforce, enhancing implementation capacity at national and subnational levels and sustaining the growth of MSMEs.
He noted that the financing of the NDP would rely heavily on domestic resource mobilization, especially from non-oil revenue sources.
He said: “We all have critical roles to play in finding innovative ways to reform tax administration and raise public revenue to effectively finance the Plan.
“In addition, the Ministry, in line with its mandate and Presidential approval, has reached advanced stage in the development of Nigeria Agenda 2050 which is the country’s perspective development plan to replace the Nigeria Vision 20:2020.
“We urge all critical stakeholders including the financial sector, our development partners and MDAs to continue to work closely with the Ministry to deliver on this onerous task.”
He said he was optimistic that the ideas and resolutions that would emanate from the retreat would go a long way in proffering policy options for the government in tackling current fiscal challenge while assuring participants that the Ministry would continue to support the FIRS and provide the enabling environment and policy direction to strengthen its operations.
“I look forward to a robust discussion and far-reaching recommendations or outcomes from this symposium,” he added.
