From Desmond Mgboh (Kano) and Uche Usim, Abuja
The Federal Inland Revenue Service has collected the sum of N7.5 trillion as taxes from January to September 2022, the Executive Chairman of the Service, Muhammad Mamman Nami has said.
Speaking at the occasion of the Joint TETfund- FIRS interactive session on Monday in Kano, Nami said the amount was a significant improvement from the N6.4 trillion collected within the same period in 2021.
Represented by the Head of the Service in Kano State, Hamman Sule, the Chairman explained that non –oil sector accounted for N4.3 trillion of the collected fund while petroleum profit tax accounted for N3.1 trillion.
He also said that Education Tax Fund recorded a significant leap since the beginning of the year, adding that the Service has so far collected the sum of N309 billion, which was higher than the N305 billion budgeted for the whole of the year.
According to him, this performance was a clear indicator that the reforms introduced by the Federal Government was yielding results while stressing FIRS’ determination to ensure that no revenue gap was left uncovered in the effort to improve the nation’s tax collection.
He confessed that the introduction of tax administration solution (Taxpromax) has enhanced compliance and collection of taxes from the taxpayers as technology deployed to ease the compliance of taxpayers was working.
In his remarks at the occasion, the Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Sonny Echono stressed the need to boost educational tax fund collection given the pivotal role it plays in the nation’s education system.
Meanwhile, MTN, Airtel, as well as deposit money banks in Nigeria have been appointed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to withhold Value Added Tax (VAT) charged on all taxable supplies made to them, and remit to the Service.
This was disclosed in a Public Notice the FIRS issued on November 1 and signed by its Executive Chairman, Muhammad Nami, where it explained the role of the companies as well as the obligations of their suppliers with regards to the withholding of Value Added Tax.
The FIRS noted that these companies were expected to remit the tax they would withhold on or before the 21st day of the month immediately following the month the tax was withheld, in the format prescribed by the Service.
“The companies shall remit the tax withheld or collected, in the currency of transaction, to the Service on or before the 21st day of the month immediately following the month the tax was withheld or collected.
He acknowledged with delight the recent successes recorded through the intervention projects and programs delivered by the Fund to the beneficiary institutions.
He also stressed the need to further expand the nets of the educational tax fund to further improve the quality of tertiary education in Nigeria while calling for proactive auditing measures to ensure that everybody pays their fair share of taxes.