The Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, on Tuesday said it generated N4.95tn in 2020 from taxes despite the economic challenges of 2020.
The FIRS’ Director of Communications, Abdullahi Ahmad, said the service achieved 98 per cent of its revenue target of N5.1tn in the previous year.
Commenting on the achievement, the Chairman, FIRS, Muhammad Nami, described the performance of the agency as remarkable, considering the debilitating effects of COVID-19 on the Nigerian economy.
He said oil, which used to contribute more than 50 per cent in tax returns through the Petroleum Profits Tax in previous years, accounted for only 30.6 per cent of the tax revenue generated in 2020.
The chairman added that non-oil tax collection was 109 per cent in 2020, nine per cent higher than the previous year.
He attributed the success recorded in 2020 to many reforms initiated by the board and the management of FIRS under his leadership.
According to him, the agency carried out capacity building for workers, improved welfare package, promotion and proper placement and deployment of appropriate technology for tax operations.
Nami identified the global crash in the price of crude oil in the international market, business disruptions, lootings during the #EndSARS protests as well as tax waivers granted to ease the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown as some factors that hindered the operations of the agency last year.
He said additional tax exemptions granted to small companies in the 2020 Finance Act and insecurity in some parts of the country as other factors that limited the agency’s achievement.
