The National Assembly has raised the Federal Inland Revenue Service’s (FIRS) revenue target to ₦25 trillion for the 2025 fiscal year, following the agency’s impressive performance in surpassing its ₦19.4 trillion goal for 2024.
FIRS Chairman, Zacch Adedeji, disclosed the agency’s revenue achievements during a presentation to the joint Committee on Finance on Wednesday.
Commending the FIRS, Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Hon. Saidu Musa Abdullahi, described the performance as “unprecedented” and urged the agency to adopt South Africa’s tax model to enhance revenue generation, particularly by bringing more informal sector participants into the tax net.
Despite the praise, Hon. Benedict Sapele argued that the FIRS could aim higher, suggesting a ₦60 trillion target for 2025 to reduce the country’s reliance on borrowing for budget funding.
Responding, Adedeji emphasised the need to formalise the informal sector before introducing new taxes, highlighting that overlapping tax collection by multiple agencies causes revenue leakages.
He advocated for the swift passage of the progressive tax bill to streamline tax administration and expand the taxpayer base.