The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), recently unveiled a new slogan as part of the company’s multiple reform approach to improve service delivery. Senior correspondent Joy Gyakyor examines the slogan’s potential to support the agency’s revenue collection drive.
It is becoming undoubtedly evident that President Bola Tinubu was right in his choice of Dr. Zacch Adedeji, a widely acclaimed tax ace for the position of executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
Dr. Adedeji who previously played critical roles in the formulation of the economic direction of the current administration, understands the place of friendly and customer-centric tax policies in the collection of taxes in a nation like Nigeria.
This was one of his earliest promises when he resumed duty as chief executive officer of the country’s top tax agency in September 2023. Dr. Adedeji served as Special Adviser to the President on revenue.
“Essentially, the issue of multiple letters from various units within FIRS over almost the same matter has been taken off the system with the restructuring that we have done.
“We are now focused on providing the needed service to our customers,” Adedeji said at a public function shortly after his appointment.
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With a seamless operational structure, including the modernization and digitization of the tax administration landscape, the ambitious desire of FIRS under Dr. Adedeji quickly moved to raise Nigeria’s revenue base to support the federal government’s funding of critical infrastructure.
Of course, industry experts also believe that such a tailored approach as being pursued by Dr. Adedeji and his team, ensures that taxpayers are guided and serviced according to their specific needs, eliminating confusion and redundancy in tax administration.
In the 2024 fiscal year, as directed by President Tinubu, FIRS set a N19 trillion tax revenue target, the highest ever in the country. Dr. Adedeji, recently announced that the service achieved a significant milestone with the generation of N3.94 trillion in tax revenue during the first quarter of the year. Although the revenue falls short of its quarterly target of N4.8 trillion, the agency is not relenting in the implementation of appropriate reforms.
The further launch of a new slogan – “simplifying tax, maximizing revenue” by the FIRS, aligns with its strategic direction of emphasizing the agency’s commitment to improving taxpayer services and building trust.
What is interesting also is that the slogan reflects the agency’s mission to make tax administration more efficient and transparent, as indicated in the Q1 revenue output. The new slogan was chosen from a competition among FIRS staff, with the winning entry from Mohammed Gidado, a staff member from Bauchi State.
Noticeable features of change in the new slogan, compared to the previous one, “It Pays to Pay Your Tax” include a shift in focus from the benefits of paying taxes to the agency’s mission of simplifying tax procedures and maximizing revenue.
Another interesting element is the emphasis by FIRS on its renewed commitment to making tax processes easier for taxpayers as well as the broader rebranding effort to improve the tax agency’s image and services.
Industry players are presently excited that the reform that produced the new slogan captures the “why,” “how,” and “what” as contained in FIRS’s mission and vision statement, which will serve as a powerful tool for communication to both the internal and external public.
Overall, by ensuring enhanced taxpayers’ satisfaction, streamlining processes, building trust, and benchmarking against best global practices, FIRS remains on track to making more monies available to government through tax collection. The top tax agency urgently needs the buy-in of stakeholders at all levels to deliver in this arduous responsibility.
