Business
Senate approves N168.8bn 2020 budget for FIRS
Senate has approved the sum of N168,809,476,220 to fund the proposed personnel, overhead and capital expenditure cost of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS for the 2020 fiscal year.
The approval was sequel to the consideration of a report by the Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Solomon Adeola (APC Lagos West) during plenary.
Senator Adeola, while giving a summary of the 2020 budget for the FIRS, said N1.56 trillion was projected for oil revenue; N4.502 from non-oil revenue; N180.086 billion projected for four percent cost of collection; N11.279 billion as projected two percent cost of collection ceded to the Nigeria Customs Service; N168.80 net projected four percent cost of collection available rose FIRS to be appropriated by the National Assembly, and the Value Added Tax, VAT at 7.5 per cent.
The Senate, while adopting the recommendations of the committee’s report, called for the digitization of all processes in the administration of tax in FIRS, so as to bring the Service up-to-speed with rapidly increasing online economic activities.
The upper legislative chamber also approved a one-off special purpose intervention fund to the tune of N100 billion to assist the FIRS complete its head office within 12 months; six training schools; 30 prototype tax operations office; purpose-built facilities for efficient taxation of upstream petroleum industry and ICT Infrastructure to identify and track digital transactions.
It explained that the N100billion would serve as an intervention for the Service to “expressly assist the Service fund its immediate but pressing needs.”
It also endorsed the amendment of the FIRS (Establishment) Act and other tax laws
to make it possible for the Service to modernize its operations with relevant
technology.
The Senate equally approved that all amounts accruing into below the line account, which is not part of the budget, be approved by the National Assembly, before expenditures are made from the account.
Consequently, it resolved that all below the line accounts accruing to the Service in this
year, must be approved by the National Assembly.
The Senate further approved that “henceforth, FIRS budget for any financial year must be approved by it, by the end of October of the
preceding year to ensure strict compliance with the January to December financial year.”
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