FIRS targets N5 trillion from value- added tax

EU links tax evasion to bad governance

FInland Revenue Service ( FIRS) has set a revenue collection target of N5 trillion from Value Added Tax ( VAT).

The plan was disclosed as the European Union expressed concern over the high level of tax evasion in Nigeria, blaming the menace on the absence of transparency in the tax management process.

Speaking at a media briefing on the achievements of the Support Programme for Tax Transition in West Africa ( PATF), yesterday in Abuja, Head of Policy and Legislation Division, FIRS, Matthew Osanekwu disclosed that the government was undertaking a review of tax exemptions granted to companies operating in Nigeria.

The PATF, a programme funded by the European Union, is geared at improving the management of domestic taxation and ensuring better coordination in ECOWAS and West African Economic and Monetary Union ( WAEMU) regions. On the achievements of the PATF programme, a tax expert and member of the PATF steering committee, Andrew Onyeanakwe, said the project had resulted in the development of regional tax management tools and harmonisation of the methodology for evaluating tax expenditure in ECOWAS member- states.

He said the programme had also led to the establishment of an institutional mechanism for monitoring and evaluating ECOWAS fiscal transition and the harmonisation of laws of the member states of the ECOWAS concerning VAT.

Osanekwu stated that despite Nigeria having the lowest VAT rate in the West African region, the country has been able to improve its tax collection performance.