Cryptocurrency: FG to overhaul tax, revenue administration – FIRS

The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS Mr. Zacch Adedeji, has revealed plans to introduce a law that would overhaul the process of revenue administration in Nigeria in September.

Also, he lamented that Nigeria has no law guiding today’s digital market, especially cryptocurrency.

Adedeji spoke at the 2024 Stakeholders’ Engagement with the Senate and House Committees on Finance, organized by the Intergovernmental Relations Department of the FIRS with the theme: “Repositioning The FIRS To Achieve Its Mandate”.

He explained that the government, plans to regulate cryptocurrency in such a way that it is not injurious to the economic development of the country, adding that there would be revenue harmonisation, recoding and simplifying the tax law that has been in existence.

For instance, he explained that Nigeria was still using the Stamp Duty Act of 1939 when there was no internet connection, saying this is the reason President Bola Tinubu, had to set up the tax and fiscal reform committee to change and check this law.

His words, “We are on the part of making sure the target of Nq19.4 trillion that we were given is achieved, We commend the recent windfall levy passed to increase FIRS ability to meet the target and get more revenue and redistribute the wealth.

“By September we are bringing the law that would overhaul all the process of revenue administration in Nigeria. “Harmonising the revenue, recoding and simplifying the tax law that we have. For instance, the Stamp Duty Act of 1939 when there was no internet or connection.

“Today we cannot run away from cryptocurrency but as we stand today, there is no law anywhere in Nigeria that regulates cryptocurrency and it is the new thing that is happening and we cannot run away from it.

“The law we are using today is the 1939 law, as at that time, there was no State or Local Government. That is the reason the President set up the tax and fiscal reform committee to check and change all these law.

Also speaking, the Chairman Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Mohammed Musa, said that the FIRS and the legislators are synergising to come up with legislation that would give Nigeria the best in getting revenue to address all the changes that we have, both in infrastructure and human capital capital development.

Musa said: “When you are talking of revenue, in every clime, you need the right legislation and there cannot be right legislation until there is a synergy between the agency collecting this revenue with the people making these laws. We the Senate and the House of Representatives work together with the FIRS to give this country the right legislation for tax collection.

“Those laws are so old that they have been before the independence of this country, they would be modified. I am sure by the time we resume our recess, the Executive will submit the executive bill for us to amend the act, repel them and reenact the one that would go with the current system in the environment.

“Cryptocurrency has become the largest way to make money today, and in Nigeria, we do not have a law to guide them.

“The FIRS and the legislators are synergising to come up with legislation that would give Nigeria the best in getting revenue to address all the changes that we have, both in infrastructure and human capital capital development.

“As soon as we resume we would work on it and we expect the cooperation of Nigerians, corporate Nigerians and individuals. This is a country of over 250 million people and less than 15 percent are paying tax.

“This engagement is both timely and crucial as we continue our collective efforts to strengthen Nigerians’ physical framework.

“The collaboration between the Senate and the House committees on finance underscores the importance of a unified approach in addressing the challenges and opportunities before us.

“The FIRS, as the bedrock of our revenue generation, has a mandate that is vital to the financial health and sustainability of our nation.

“Ensuring that the agency is not only effective but also agile in responding to the dynamic demands of our economy is a responsibility that we all share.

“As the global economy evolves and as our own economic landscape undergoes transformation, there is a pressing need to assess, to reassess, realign and reposition the virus to meet these new realities.

“This means not only adopting best practices, but also fostering an environment where transparency, accountability and innovation are at the forefront of revenue generation efforts,” he said.

In his remark, Chairman, House Committee on Finance, James Faleke, said that everybody wants improvement and development in the nation but nobody wants to contribute to that purse.

“We are much more interested in sharing, nobody wants to contribute, forgetting that the developed world we always make reference to are developed based on the resources that every citizen put into the box”, Faleke said.

Vanguard