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FIRS records N1tn revenue shortfall in first quarter

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Federal Inland Revenue Service



Between January and March this year, the Federal Inland Revenue Service generated about N1.12tn from taxes.

The Service said this in a statement issued by the Director, Communications and Liaison Department, Abdullahi Ahmad.

The Federal Government in the 2020 fiscal year had set a target of N8.5tn for the service.

The N8.5tn projected revenue for 2020 translates to a quarterly target of N2.12tn.

When the actual revenue of N1.12tn is compared to the quarterly target of N2.12tn, this translates into a shortfall of about N1tn.

The statement from the FIRS said despite the turbulence in the global economic system, especially the sharp fall in the price of crude oil, the N1.12tn represents an increase of seven per cent over the N1.04tn generated during the first quarter of last year.

The Service said that it recorded a significant increase of 568 per cent in Capital Gains Tax from N96.4m in the first quarter of 2019 to N643.93m during the same period of this year.

It said the CGT collection of N643.93m gave the Service its biggest lift in revenue generated during the period.

It attributed the rise in CGT collection to blockage of leakages in that revenue flow which was instituted by the wide-ranging reforms launched at the FIRS by its newly appointed Executive Chairman, Mr Muhammad Nami.

Similarly, the Service recorded a 522 per cent increase in collection from the Nigeria Information Technology Development Fund from N111.03m in the first quarter of 2019 to N690.53m.

“Since taking the mantle of leadership at the FIRS, Nami has instituted a regime of policy reforms anchored on the deployment of Information Communication Technology to block tax leaks and motivated members of staff at the FIRS by restoring a number of their statutory roles hitherto outsourced to private consultants back to the staff,” the statement added.

The statement said during the period under review, gas income tax increased by 286 per cent from N2.97bn in the first quarter of last year to N11.49bn

Similarly, Company Income Tax collected in the first quarter of this year rose by 135 per cent to N95.73bn from the corresponding figure of N40.69bn recorded in the first quarter of last year.

Stamp Duty collection rose to N4.6bn representing a 36 per cent increase when compared to the 2019 first quarter figure of N3.38bn.

In the education sector, the FIRS recorded an 81 per cent increase in its collection of Education Tax to N13.1bn compared to N7.22bn in the first quarter of 2019.

It said both Nigeria Customs Service and Non-Import VAT also increased in the first quarter of this year to N63.29bn and N261.24bn respectively from the corresponding last year’s figures of N57bn and N236.03bn in that order.

However, the report said Petroleum Income Tax, Withholding Tax and Personal Income Tax all took a decline in the period under review.

The development was attributed to fluctuations in the price of crude oil in the international market as well as the implementation gap witnessed between the passing of the 2019 Finance Act into law and its coming to effect on February 1, 2020.

The statement said moving forward and as on-going reforms and deployment of more ICT platforms at the FIRS take effect, the Service expects a brighter outlook in revenue collections.

 

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