While Nigeria is working to reform its tax system to enable it to generate more revenue to run government business, the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr. Zacch Adedeji,  has advised that Nigeria needs to diversify its revenue streams by exploring alternative sources like tourism,  agriculture, technology, and natural resources extraction to reduce dependence on traditional income streams. 

Adedeji also said that the new tax reform bill before the National Assembly was developed to make taxation the pivot of national development. 

He stated this yesterday in his keynote speech at the second edition of an annual national dialogue, organised by NPO Reports, with the theme, Revenue Generation,  Infrastructure progress: Options in a challenged economy. 

Adedeji, who was represented by the Director of Intergovernmental Relations, FIRS,  Dr. Umar Ahmed Idris, said Nigeria does not need new taxes but new taxpayers, people who are gainfully employed or are engaged in thriving businesses. 

According to him, the new tax reform bills already with the National Assembly are in the spirit of reforming the tax system so that the country can generate more without necessarily burdening the citizens.

He said Nigeria can generate revenue, adding that all the revenue-collecting agencies, including the Customs,  Nigeria Ports Authority, FIRS, among others, have posted some good results so far this year, exceeding their targets from January to October and the signs are good that they will exceed their targets for the year.

The FIRS boss said tax cannot happen if there is no cooperation between the tax agency and the taxpayers,  “so we are moving from voluntary compliance to cooperative compliance,  let’s sit and have a discussion on how best we can improve our revenue through taxation.”

On other options available to the government to raise revenue, he said the government could take advantage of public-private partnership (PPP), privatisation of government-owned enterprises, encourage private sector investment, broadening the tax base and minimising tax evasion, and adopting cost-cutting measures as well as fiscal discipline to reduce waste.

On infrastructure, he frowned at the rate people vandalise public infrastructure in the country. He said it is true every country has its own problems but the issue of people vandalising pipelines, powerlines, rail infrastructure and many others is a big drawback for Nigeria’s development. 

“Infrastructure is the live blood of economic development.  It affords access to basic services such as clean water and electricity, creates jobs and boosts business,” he said.

He said the country needs to prioritize maintenance by investing in the upkeep of existing infrastructure to prevent deterioration and ensure asset longevity.

Earlier in his opening remarks,  Chairman of the occasion,  Dr. Ismail Adebayo Adewusi, a former finance commissioner in Lagos State,  said many Nigerians are disenchanted with the state of the economy at this time, adding that the major challenge of the Nigerian economy today is revenue.

“Once we are able to solve that, we are good to go,” said. 

He also decried the fact that Nigeria still depends so much on oil for its revenue which he said has made it vulnerable to shocks.

He thanked the organisers of the event for choosing the topic, adding that the lecture is coming at a critical time in the history of Nigeria when the topic of the day is how to improve government revenue to provide more infrastructure.

In his welcome address, the Publisher of NPO Reports,  Mr. Semiu Okanlaawon said the topic of the lecture was inspired by the dilemma Nigeria is currently facing, trying to raise revenue from people who are economically drained and can barely feed.

He thanked participants for finding time to be at the event and promised that subsequent editions of the dialogue would take on even more topical national issues.