Uche Usim and Joseph Inokotong, Abuja
The Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Chief Elias Mbam, has said the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), contributed 59.7 percent revenue, representing more than half of revenues to Federation Account in the last three months.
Mbam, who spoke on Thursday, in Abuja during a visit to FIRS Headquarters by the Commission, commended the efforts of the Service in tax collection.
He said “I want to observe with pleasure that in the last three months, the FIRS has been the major contributor to the federation account. The average contribution from the FIRS in the last three months is about 59.7 percent. In other words, more than half of the revenue shared to the three tiers of government comes from the FIRS. So, I thank you for that effort”.
Mbam who led a team of RMAFC Commissioners and other management mem- bers to the visit also noted that the Commission and FIRS would continue to collaborate.
“You would recall, Mr. Chairman that sometime in June, you were present when the members of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission were sworn-in. They have all assumed duty. And in order to understand the terrain, the needed to familiarise themselves with major stakeholders of the Commission and their activities so as to aid them in their work. One of our major stakeholders is the FIRS.
“We are here to familiarise ourselves with your activities, to know areas of collaboration, your challenges, which we will also help to pass to the Federal Government. We also want to know where we can be of help. We are all working for the same government and our work is collaborative”, he added.
Responding the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Tunde Fowler, noted that FIRS would continue do its best to generate revenue to fund the three tiers of government.
“We have always told ourselves that the job we do is for the love of the country. We will continue to deliver quality services in tax administration in Nigeria.
“We are deploying technologies to make it easy for taxpayers to pay their taxes conveniently, even from the comfort of their homes or offices, download tax receipts and do other transaction with FIRS without visiting the tax office…”