By Edu Abade
If feelers from the presidency are anything to go by, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu may soon bar revenue generating agencies from collecting revenues on behalf of the Federal Government.
Presidency sources privy to the proposal disclosed that when fully established, the new single revenue collection agency to be known as the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) will take over all revenue collection tasks in the country.
This came as the Federal Government instituted a comprehensive set of fresh tax reforms aimed at significantly boosting revenue collection.
The reforms, designed to enhance the efficiency of collecting direct taxes, along with various levies that are imposed on behalf of the government, will bar the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Ports Authority, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and about 60 other revenue collection agencies from participating in revenue collection activities, but will lead to the creation of the NRS.
By implementing the proposed changes, the Tinubu-led administration seeks to streamline the tax collection process, ensuring that all taxable entities contribute their fair share and that the revenue generated is maximized to support public services and infrastructure development.
The policy directive was instituted on Thursday, October 3, 2024 when the President forwarded four executive bills to the National Assembly for consideration with the sole aim of implementing significant tax reforms.
One of the key proposals is the renaming of the Federal Inland Revenue Service to the Nigeria Revenue Service.