Headlines
HOW THE FIRS IS BREAKING NEW GROUNDS IN REVENUE COLLECTION By JANTIKU IJANADA
Just when we thought the peak in tax collection was attained, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) brought forward another harvest of revenue collection, peaking any collection in our nation’s history.
The tax agency recently announced a total tax revenue collection of N5.5 trillion for the half-year period of January to June 2023 signifying the highest tax revenue collection ever recorded by the Service in any first six months of a fiscal year.
Even though this did not come as a shocker, it is still fascinating to see how the FIRS has improved so much under it’s current leadership and by extension set the country’s course on the path of economic growth, development and sustainability.
Prior to this feat, the Service achieved a total collection of N4.95 trillion in 2020 (representing 98% of target met). This was amidst the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Nigerian economy as well as the business disruptions and lootings during the #EndSARS protests.
The tax agency collected in tax revenue the total sum of N6.405 trillion (representing 101% of target met) in 2021 and a total of N10.1 trillion in the year 2022.
The 2022 tax collection was the highest ever made by the FIRS in a single year, signifying over 96% of its collection target for the year, marking the highest tax collection ever recorded in its history and the first time that the FIRS will cross the N10 trillion mark in tax revenue collection.
That was a jinx breaker as it rewrote Nigeria’s tax collection history and set in motion the journey to future collections in double digits.
There is no doubt that the coming of Muhammad Nami as Executive Chairman of the FIRS , birthed a new era of reinvigoration and transformation of the agency.
His reforms and strategies have paved ways for the service to achieve much more than it had achieved in time past under previous leaderships.
The FIRS have been diligently building on the Executive Chairman’s 4-Cardinal Goals of: Making FIRS a Customer-Centric Institution; Making FIRS a data-centric Institution; Improving Stakeholder Collaboration; and Rebuilding the Institutional Framework of the Service.
These goals were carefully curated to give direction towards transforming the service for improved tax revenue collection.
The service at the same time identified more areas where it could improve in the delivery and efficiency of its collection. And this has no doubt yielded tremendous success as seen in it’s 2023-2024 tax revenue outlook presented to the National Economic Council.
During the presentation, Mr. Muhammad Nami noted that the service was able to collect N5.5 trillion in tax for the first half of the year as a result of “improved voluntary tax compliance by taxpayers, the continued improvement of automation of our tax administration processes, including the updated VAT filing processes; as well as our dogged engagement with stakeholders in both the formal and informal sectors of the economy.”
The FIRS boss also stated that the tax revenue collected from the oil sector from January to June 2023, stood at N1.73 trillion, as against a target of N2.3 trillion; while non-oil tax collection stood at N3.76 trillion, as against a target of N2.98 trillion.
With this, the agency has achieved over one hundred percent of its target for the first-half of the year when compared with a mid-year target of N5.3 trillion.
Further more, the Service collected a total of N1.65 trillion tax revenues in June 2023. This sum is the highest tax revenue collected by the Service in any single month.
With it’s continued hyper achievements, one question that keeps coming to mind is, what is this current management of the FIRS doing differently? What are they adding to the table that is yielding these progressive results?
Muhammed Nami while speaking on how the tax agency achieved its 2023 half-year collection on channels television Business Morning Show revealed the key reforms responsible for it’s continuous successes.
The reforms includes: Improvement in stakeholder engagements; ensuring that taxpayers are satisfied; issuance of circulars to guide and educate taxpayers on tax laws, legislations, how to file, filing returns, etc; enlightenment of taxpayers on their rights and obligations and redesigning the FIRS organizational structure to ensure optimum efficiency of staff.
Other reforms he stated include the constant training and retraining of FIRS staff to improve their capacity; the use of data and intelligence for tax collection and taxpayer profiling; building a comprehensive tax database; consistent stakeholder engagement in both the formal and informal sector; and deployment of the “TaxPro Max” as a tax administration solution as well as other technological tools automation of tax administration processes.
These reforms indeed are the contributors to the huge, unprecedented successes in revenue collection. Given its antecedent, one can confidently project better, prosperous days for the agency and the nation at large going forward.
Mr. Nami also attested to this when he said that: “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 positive impact of current government’s policies on the economy.”
The FIRS have a bigger target of N7.5 trillion for the second half of the year. It is almost certain that this will not be one nut too hard to crack for the agency and who knows, it might just surprise us again by exceeding its target as seen in the first half of 2023.
The post HOW THE FIRS IS BREAKING NEW GROUNDS IN REVENUE COLLECTION By JANTIKU IJANADA appeared first on Jomog.
Education
1ST NIGERIAN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS CONFERENCE ON UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGS) ESSAY COMPETITION
Competition Overview:
The SDG Youth Essay Competition offers a grand prize of N1 million for the top three winners, along with free sponsorship to attend the 1st Nigeria Tertiary Institution Conference on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in April 2024 in Abuja.
Competition Requirements:
1. Eligibility:
– Open exclusively to undergraduates in Nigerian tertiary institutions.
2. Entry Guidelines:
– Topic:The Role of Students in Attainment of SDG4
– length: Essays should be 1500 words.
– Entry Period: Thursday, February 1, 2024 – Thursday, February 29, 2024
– Referencing: APA Style (6th Edition).
– Font: Times New Roman, 12-point font size.
– Documentation: Typed in 1.5 line spacing, MS Word format only.
– Plagiarism: Only original content is accepted; plagiarized entries will be disqualified.
Benefits:
– Prizes:
– 1st Prize: N500,000
– 2nd Prize: N300,000
– 3rd Prize: N200,000
– Winners will also receive free sponsorship to attend the 1st Nigeria Tertiary Institution Conference on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in April 2024 in Abuja.
Required Documents:
– Student’s Institution ID Card
– Copy of Student’s Admission Letter
– One recent passport-size photograph
– WhatsApp telephone number and email address
Application Procedure:
– All entries and submissions (essay and required documents) should be scanned and sent to nigeriaessay@sdgyouth.org before the deadline.
For Further Inquiries:
– Call: 08068931151, 08133846739, 07067772964
– Email: nigeriaessay@sdgyouth.org
Deadline: February 29th, 2024
Don’t miss this opportunity to contribute to achieving SDG4 and win exciting prizes. Submit your entry and required documents before the deadline. For any inquiries, feel free to contact them via phone or email.
Competition Overview:
The National Essay Competition invites undergraduate law students to showcase their expertise and contribute to the discourse on AI, privacy, and data protection. In addition to cash prizes, participants have the chance to intern with Pentagon Partners, gaining valuable hands-on experience.
Competition Requirements:
1. Eligibility:
– The competition is open to 400-level and 500-level undergraduate law students in Nigerian universities.
2. Essay Requirements:
– Length: Essays should not exceed 1500 words.
– Format: Double spaced, 12pt Times New Roman font.
– References: OSCOLA format for citations with 10pt font size for footnotes and endnotes.
– Submission Format: Essays must be submitted in PDF format.
– Entrant Details: Include full names, school, level, phone number, and email address in both the body of the email and on the last page of the essay.
– Single Entry: Each entrant is allowed only one submission.
– Originality: Plagiarism will result in automatic disqualification.
Competition Benefits and Timeline:
1. Prizes:
– Winner: N200,000
– 1st Runner Up: N150,000
– 2nd Runner Up: N100,000
2. Internship Opportunity:
– In addition to cash prizes, winners have the exclusive opportunity to intern with Pentagon Partners, enhancing their career prospects.
Application Procedure:
– Interested participants should submit their essays to essay@pentagonpartnerslp.com during the submission period.
– The subject of the email should be the Essay topic
For additional information and updates, visit www.pentagonpartnerslp.com.
Deadline: March 22nd, 2024
Don’t miss this chance to showcase your legal expertise, contribute to important discussions on AI and law, and vie for enticing cash prizes. Pentagon Partners looks forward to receiving your submissions.
Purpose:
Inaugurated in 2020, the CDEC is part of SystemSpecs’ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitment to promoting capacity development in the Nigerian ICT industry. By encouraging young Nigerians to tackle everyday issues, the competition contributes to intellectual growth and societal progress.
Topic:
The theme for the 2024 competition is “Protecting the Nigerian Child from the Dangers of Online Technology.” Participants are tasked with exploring strategies to safeguard children in an increasingly digital world.
Eligibility:
– Open to primary and secondary school students in Nigeria aged 9 to 16.
– Junior category (ages 9 to 12) essays must not exceed 1,000 words.
– Senior category (ages 13 to 16) essays must not exceed 1,500 words.
Prizes:
– Winners will receive generous rewards, including a high-capacity laptop, premium headphones, a portable laptop stand, a smart wristwatch, and one year of internet data, among other items.
– Consolation prizes will be awarded to other participants.
Application Process:
– Interested candidates should access the application page
– Essays must be written in English and reflect original thought.
– Each participant is limited to one entry.
– Entries must be endorsed by an accredited school official, parent, or legal guardian.
– Deadline for submissions is April 12, 2024.
Submission Guidelines:
– All submissions must be in PDF format and include the student’s name, home and school addresses, email address, and contact phone number.
– Double entries will result in automatic disqualification.
– Submissions must be received by March 15, 2024, at 5:00 p.m.
Notification of Winners:
– Successful students and schools will be contacted in the second quarter of the year.
– Updates on winners will be announced on @nercng social media platforms.
The SystemSpecs Children’s Day Essay Competition offers a unique opportunity for Nigerian students to demonstrate their creativity and problem-solving skills. By addressing the theme of online child protection, participants contribute to building a safer and more secure digital environment for all. We encourage eligible students to seize this opportunity and showcase their talent and ingenuity.
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