When the ongoing integration of different bio metric databases in Nigeria is completed, it is anticipated that the figure on the taxpayer database will grow to 45 million individuals, inclusive of corporate payers. In essence, the taxpayer database has expanded from 10 million that was inherited by President Buhari in 2015 to 35 million as at the end of 2018. Disclosing this at the quarterly world press conference held in Abuja, Mrs. Zainab S. Ahmed, Honorable Minister of Finance, said that through reforms at the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) and the Joint Tax Board (JTB), government have been able to harmonize the Tax Identity Number (TIN) database to cover Federal, States and LGs to establish a unified identity number system for uniquely identifying tax payers.
Considering that revenue growth is a strategic priority for the Ministry of Finance, Ahmed further said that the Strategic Revenue Growth Initiative (SRGI), which was launched in Abuja Wednesday, January 23, 2019, is a key aspect of government strategy to improve Non-oil revenue through fiscal buffers, and ultimately improve the Revenue to Debt Service Ratio and to improve the ratio of Non-oil revenue to Non-oil GDP. “A set of initiatives have been itemized in the SRGI to increase the country’s revenues across all revenue types. This is to ensure that the whole of government is focused on revenue generation,” she stated. Among the initiatives in the SRGI is the National Single Window (NSW) which is expected to significantly improve the revenue performance of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) when implemented. Speaking further in an interactive session, the Honorable Minister said: “Four to five years after implementation we expect NCS revenue to double. This will come from the blocking of the leakages, improvement in the efficiencies in our ports and borders, the rehabilitation of scanners as well as the infusion of new scanners in the ports trading ecosystem, and it would also be due to increased rate of physical examination, reducing the physical examination to fasten the business of the ports.” The single window, according to her, would also help to bring to the barest minimum the issues of trade sim-invoicing, which is not only a drain on customs revenue but also a drain on tax revenues.

Source: Independent

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