From Johnson Eyiangho, Abuja

Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has said it is targeting a revenue generation of N25.2 trillion in 2025, an improvement over the N21.6 trillion it collected in 2024. 
  
This was disclosed by FIRS Executive Chairman, Dr Zacch Adedeji, who noted that the FIRS was facing the challenge of ever-increasing demand for greater tax revenue collection by government at all levels, especially in the face of dwindling direct revenue contribution by some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). 
  
In a keynote address at the opening of a two-day workshop, organised by the Service on “Tax Expenditure and its Effects on Government Revenue”, the FIRS chairman said that under the current dispensation, the Service was contributing an average of over 60 per cent monthly to the Federation Account. 
  
According to Adedeji, who was represented by FIRS Coordinating Director, Corporate Services Group, Bola Akintola, this is due to several proactive and reformative steps adopted by the Service.
 
 He, however, said that the government was losing revenue through tax incentives, which had been difficult to quantify due to limited data availability. 

In a paper titled, “Nigerian Experience in Tax Expenditure Reporting – Achievements and Challenges”, Head, Tax Expenditure Management, Ikata Oyekuodi John, said effective fiscal policy required a balance between giving tax incentives and maintaining sustainable revenue generation, adding that this made tax expenditure reporting a critical tool in assessing the effectiveness and trade-offs associated with such policies.