FIRS: New Man, Better Drive

“Bring me men to match my mountains,
Bring me men to match my plains,
Men with empires in their purpose,
And new eras in their brains.”
– Sam Walter Foss in The Coming American (Published July 4, 1894

President Muhammad Buhari in his wisdom, patriotic zeal and also like a prophet who sees the future appointed Mohammed Nami, a tax consultant of great repute as the new Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS .

The new FIRS chairman, a man of many first class and an astute tax professional with vast experience in tax reform is taking the FIRS to a new height – not minding the greater pressure on the FIRS occasioned by the Covid -19 Pademic on our economy.

Those that are conversant with the excellent antecedent of Mohammed Nami are not suprised by the FIRS new innovations aimed at improving tax collection in the country. The new revenue generation drive by Nami and the diligent Staff of FIRS is to block leakages and bring more resources to the coffers of the government especially in the face of the ravaging Covid -19 Pandemic and the dwilling global oil prices

One of the first steps taken by Nami to improve tax collection in the country was his courageous move in bringing fresh hands to help drive and implement the new agenda and policy on tax collection.

The idea concieved by the Nami led administration to open more FIRS tax offices in markets nationwide so as to bring the Service nearer to traders and make tax compliance easier is unprecedented and remarkable.

Similarly, the decision to decentralised key operations of the Service to make it easier to do business with the FIRS, including filing for Tax Clearance Certificate manually for it to be generated electronically on the Service’s Integrated Tax Administration System is a noble drive.

One major area that the FIRS is achieving great feat since the coming of Nami is the collection of Stamp Duty. Stamp Duty relates to matters executed between a company and an individual, group or body of individuals. It is a tax on legal documents, deeds of agreements and contracts, electronic transfers, and electronic receipts on transactions in the region of N10,000 and above or transfers in like sum from one Current Account to another Current Account.

In a recent interview, Mohammed Nami said that the Federal Government did not make any mistake in entrusting stamp duty collection to the FIRS. According to him in the months and years to come, this capacity would be demonstrated in the use of the Stamp Duty as a flagship tax to rescue the economy from the looming downward slide.

And true to his words, Stamp duty is helping to boost government revenue. This motivated him in engaging Banks Chief Executives and other stakeholders in other to step up the successes recorded so far.

Nami as the new helmsman of FIRS is determined to double up tax collection for the government and to educate Nigerians on the importance of tax collection. He has also put up mechanism for maximum collection of taxes in the country.

Without doubt, President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointment of Mohammed Nami as FIRS Chairman is a great leap for the Agency and also heralds a new dawn for tax collection which will surely translate to the economic and social prosterity for all Nigerians!

Ahmed Haruna Tswata, a Journalist writes from Lugbe Abuja.