Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS Mr Zacch Adedeji, has revealed plans to introduce a law that would overhaul the process of revenue administration in Nigeria next month.

He also lamented the fact that Nigeria had no law guiding the digital market in Nigeria, especially the crypto currency.

Adedeji spoke at the 2024 stakeholders’ engagement with the Senate and House Committees on Finance, organized by the Intergovernmental Relations Department of the FIRS, with the theme “Repositioning The FIRS To Achieve Its Mandate”.

He explained that the government plans to regulate crypto currency in such a way that it would not be injurious to the economic development of the country, adding that there would be revenue harmonisation, recording and simplifying the tax law that had been in existence.

He said Nigeria was still using the Stamp Duty Act of 1939 when there was no internet connection, saying this explained the reason President Bola Tinubu set up the tax and fiscal reform committee to change and check the law.

Adedeji said: “We are on the path of making sure the target of N19.4 trillion target we were given is achieved. We commend the recent windfall levy passed to increase FIRS’ ability to meet target and get more revenue and redistribute the wealth.

“By September, we are bringing the law that would overhaul all the process of revenue administration in Nigeria, harmonising the revenue, recording and simplifying the tax law that we have. For instance, the Stamp Duty Act of 1939, when there was no internet or connection, is what is still in use.

“Today we cannot run away from crypto currency but as we stand currently, there is no law anywhere in Nigeria that regulates crypto currency and it is the new thing that is happening and we cannot run away from it.

“The law we are using today is 1939 law. As at that time, there was no state or local government. That is the reason the President set up the tax and fiscal reform committee to check and change all these law.’’

Also speaking, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Mohammed Musa, said the FIRS and the legislators were synergising to come up with a legislation that would give Nigeria the best in getting revenue to address all the challenges facing the country, both in infrastructure and human capital development.

Musa said: “When you are talking of revenue, in every clime, you need the right legislation and there cannot be right legislation until there is a synergy between the agency collecting this revenue with the people making these laws.

“We, the Senate and the House of Representatives, work together with the FIRS to give this country the right legislation for tax collection.

“Those laws are so old that they have been before the independence of this country, they would be modified. I am sure by the time we resume from our recess, the executive would submit the executive bill for us to amend the Act, repeal them and re-enact the one that would go with the current system in the environment.

“Crypto currency has become the largest way to make money today, and in Nigeria, we do not have a law to guide them. The FIRS and the legislators are synergising to come up with a legislation that would give Nigeria the best in getting revenue to address all the changes that we have, both in infrastructure and human capital development.

“As soon as we resume, we would work on it and we expect the cooperation of Nigerians, corporate Nigerians and individuals. This is a country of over 250 million people and less than 15 per cent are paying tax.

“This engagement is both timely and crucial as we continue our collective efforts to strengthen Nigerians’ physical framework

“The collaboration between the Senate and the House committees on finance underscores the importance of a unified approach in addressing the challenges and opportunities before us.

“The FIRS, as the bedrock of our revenue generation, has a mandate that is vital to the financial health and sustainability of our nation.

“Ensuring that the agency is not only effective but also agile in responding to the dynamic demands of our economy is a responsibility that we all share.

“As the global economy evolves and as our own economic landscape undergoes transformation, there is a pressing need to assess, to reassess, realign and reposition to meet these new realities.

“This means not only adopting best practices, but also fostering an environment where transparency, accountability and innovation are at the forefront of revenue generation efforts,” he said.

In his remark, the Chairman, House Committee on Finance, James Faleke, said everybody wanted improvement and development in the nation but noted that nobody wants to contribute to that purse.

“We are much more interested in sharing, nobody wants to contribute, forgetting that the developed world we always make reference to are developed, based on the resources that every citizen put into the box,” Faleke said. (Vanguard)

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