On Monday, January 24, 2023, Nigeria’s tax man, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), released its 2022 report detailing the agency’s performance in 2022.
Beating its 2021 figures, the agency disclosed that it had collected a total of ₦10.1 trillion in oil and non-oil revenues. In 2021, the agency collected ₦6.405 trillion, exceeding its target of ₦6.401 trillion. Since 2017, non-oil revenue has grown from 38% in 2017 to 59% in 2022. However, this also represents a drop from last year’s figures, where non-oil revenues made up 69% of taxes collected.
Under non-oil revenues, Companies' Income Tax contributed ₦2.83 trillion; Value Added Tax ₦2.51 trillion; Electronic Money Transfer Levy ₦125.67 billion and Earmarked Taxes ₦353.69 billion. The Federal Minister for Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Usman, signed the Electronic Money Transfer Levy Regulations into law in 2022, placing a ₦50 fee on all deposits above ₦10,000.
Muhammad Nami, the Executive Chairman of the FIRS, attributed the agency’s ability to exceed the trillion naira mark to collaboration with stakeholders and the willingness of taxpayers to remit taxes while expressing hope that the agency can exceed last year’s achievement.
“This collection was possible through collaboration with our stakeholders, from our colleagues at the Executive branch of government, to the members of the judiciary, to our brothers and sisters at the National Assembly, as well as the tax advisory committee, professional bodies, unions, and most crucially our taxpayers. We intend to maintain and even improve on the momentum in 2023.”
He also noted that the agency would continue identifying ways to improve service delivery and deploy data and artificial intelligence in its processes.
