The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has reported a remarkable achievement, collecting a record-breaking N5.5 trillion in tax revenue during the first six months of 2023.
This unprecedented revenue collection is the highest ever recorded by the Service for any first half of a fiscal year.
The Executive Chairman of FIRS, Muhammad Nami made this announcement while presenting the 2023-2024 tax revenue outlook to the National Economic Council at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The 2023 Half-Year Collection Report revealed that FIRS surpassed its target by more than one hundred percent, achieving N5.5 trillion compared with a mid-year target of N5.3 trillion.
Breaking down the figures, tax revenue from the oil sector for the period of January to June 2023 amounted to N2.03 trillion, slightly below the target of N2.3 trillion. However, non-oil tax collection performed exceptionally well, reaching N3.76 trillion, surpassing the target of N2.98 trillion.
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The month of June 2023 witnessed an extraordinary milestone, with the Service collecting a record N1.65 trillion in tax revenues, the highest ever achieved in a single month.
Muhammad Nami attributed the outstanding performance to improved voluntary tax compliance, which was facilitated by the Service’s implementation of automated tax administrative processes.
Despite facing economic challenges due to the currency redesign and the 2023 General Elections, Nami expressed optimism about the positive impact of the government’s policies on the economy and its effect on tax revenue collection in the second half of the year.
“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,” stated the Executive Chairman.
It is worth noting that FIRS achieved a total collection of N10.1 trillion in the year 2022, marking the highest tax collection ever recorded by the Service in a single year. The significant increase in revenue collection further strengthens FIRS’s position as a critical player in Nigeria’s fiscal landscape.
(omayowa@globalfinancialdigest.com; Newsroom: +234 8033 964 138)
