We’re Targeting N5.9trn Revenue In 2021, FIRS Confirms

The Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mohammed Nami, yesterday, placed their revenue projection for 2021at N5.9trillion.
Nami made the disclosure while meeting with the House of Representatives Committee on Finance led by Hon. James Falake on the Service’s 2021 budget defence and consideration of its proposed Revenue and Expenditure Estimates.
Out of the proposed figure, the chairman said that non-oil and oil components were expected to generate N4.26trillion and N1.64trillion, respectively.
He, however, put the cost of collecting the projected revenue at N289.25billion against the budgeted N180.76billion in 2020 to fund the three operational expenditure heads for the year.
He said: “Out of the proposed expenditure of N289.25billion across the three expenditure heads, the sum of N147.08billion and N94.97billion are to be expended on Personnel and Overhead Costs against 2020 budgeted sum of N97.36billion and N43.64billion, respectively.
Also, the sum of N47.19billion is estimated to be expended on capital items against the budgeted sum of N27.80billion in 2020.
The sum is to cater for on-going and new projects for effective revenue drive”.
Speaking on while the agency failed to realize the expected N5trillion targeted in 2020, Nami said that the lockdown occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic and the #EndSARS protests affected the drive for taxes.
Responding to a query by the committee on why there was an increase in the recurrent expenditures of the service for 2021, Nami attributed to the new salary structure occasioned by the recruitment of more staff.
He said there were about 1,800 staff recruited by the erstwhile management between 2019 and 2020, adding that the service also carried of about 500 members of staff.
“There’s lockdown effect on businesses, implementation directive also for us to study, research best practices on tax administration which involves travelling to overseas and we also have to expand offices and create offices more at rural areas to get closer to the taxpayers, we pay rent for those offices and this could be the reason why all these things went up.
“And if you have more staff surely, their salary will go up, taxes that you’re going to pay on their behalf will go up, the National Housing Fund and PENCOM contribution will go up. Those promoted you have to implement a new salary regime for them. There’s also the issue of inflation and exchange rate differential”, he said.
The chairman, however, gave hints of a marginal reduction in the taxable income of taxpayers due to the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, ruling out a new recruitment exercise this year.
Earlier, members of the committee had queried the increase in the budget and demanded an explanation on the shortfall in the 2020 revenue projection.