By Naomi Uzor
F ederal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, yesterday disclosed that it had recorded a remarkable performance in terms of revenue collection this year, adding that, as at October 31st, it recorded a collection of N4.3trillion.

Speaking at the FIRS special day at the ongoing Lagos International Trade Fair, the Executive Chairman, Babatunde Fowler said the service had the potential to meet its assigned target at the end of the year.

“We realize that this performance wouldn’t have been possible but for the present administration’s policies of expanding the nation’s tax base and blocking revenue leakages. You may be aware that we have recently focused our attention on businesses with over a billion naira in annual turnover but no record of commensurate payment of their tax obligations; approximately 6000 plus of such companies have been identified and contacted by the Service leveraging on various data sources; we will continue to focus on recovering all such revenues due to the Federal Government and the people of Nigeria”

“We encourage the business community and all well-meaning citizens to continue to partner with us to ensure that defaulters are traced and face the consequences while compliant businesses receive all the support they require,” he said.

On their part, he said, they are working hard to ensure that the FIRS was in full alignment with all efforts to grow national revenue from taxation while easing the administrative burdens inherent.

“We place emphasis on human resources as one of several tools to achieve our aim of expanding the tax net- this is why we recently recruited young Nigerians to support our bid to effectively provide adequate services to all the nooks and crannies of the country”, he stated.