Huge setback as Muhammad Nami Led FIRS Fails To Meet Oil Tax Revenue Projection

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) under the leadership of Muhammad Nami didn’t achieve its projection for tax revenue from the oil sector in the first half of 2023 but surpassed that of the non-oil sector.

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This Nigeria News platform understands that FIRS had projected N2.3 trillion in tax revenue from the oil sector in H1, however, the Federal Government agency generated N2.03 trillion.

The tax agency was able to surpass the N2.98 trillion tax projected for the non-oil sector after recording N3.76 trillion in the review period.

This brought the total tax generated by FIRS to N5.5 trillion, which Johannes Oluwatobi Wojuola, the special assistant on media and communication to the chairman of FIRS, described as FIRS’ highest tax collection in H1.

Breaking down the tax revenue in the first half of this year, Wojuola said: “Tax revenue collected from the oil sector from January to June 2023, stood at N2.03 trillion, as against a target of N2.3 trillion; while non-oil tax collection stood at N3.76 trillion, as against a target of N2.98 trillion.”

Also, in June, the tax agency generated its highest tax revenue in a month, “The service collected a total of N1.65 trillion tax revenues in June 2023. This sum is the highest tax revenue collected by the service in any single month,” Wojuola noted.

The executive chairman of FIRS, Muhammad Nami, expressed optimism in the tax agency meeting its target for the year. He said improved voluntary tax compliance contributed to the record set in H1 2023.

“This is a good head start as we work towards meeting our target for the year. And it was achieved despite stubborn headwinds such as the impact of the currency redesign and the 2023 general elections on the economy in the first and second quarters of 2023.

“This half-year performance was achieved as a result of improved voluntary tax compliance by taxpayers, the continued improvement of automation of our tax administration processes, including the updated VAT filing processes; as well as our dogged engagement with stakeholders in both the formal and informal sectors of the economy.

“We believe that the performance in the second half of the year would be better considering the continuing improvement to our tax administration processes and the positive impact of the current government’s policies on the economy,” Nami said.