FIRS stops scores recruited by Fowler from resuming

Hundreds of Nigerians who were given letters of employment by the immediate past Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mr. Babatunde Fowler, have not been allowed to resume over six months after they received the letters, The PUNCH has learnt. It was learnt that some of those affected had already resigned from their previous places of work after receiving the letters of employment only to be rendered jobless afterwards. A copy of one of the letters signed on behalf of Fowler by the Director, Human Capital Management Department, Victor Ekundayo,…

FIRS Chair, Fowler May Handover Today

The tenure of the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Babatunde Fowler, ended on Sunday with no indication that he would get a second term in office. Fowler, who is a childhood friend and former classmate of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, was appointed as the FIRS Chairman on August 20, 2015 He was confirmed by the Senate on December 9, 2015 which implies that his tenure ended on December 8, 2019. The FIRS Establishment Act stipulates that “the executive chairman shall be appointed by the President subject to the…

FG Pays N157.35B P.A.Y.E Tax Arrears To States

The Federal Government has paid the sum of N157.35 billion PAYE (Pay As You Earn) tax liabilities owed by Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs to states. Tunde Fowler, Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service and Chairman of the Joint Tax Board, JTB said this today in Awka. The amount, Fowler disclosed, represented outstanding liabilities of PAYE by federal MDAs to State Governments from 2002 to 2016. A total of N23.87 billion of the N157.35 billion went to States in the South-East Geopolitical Zone. Fowler who was speaking at the…

Buhari Queries FIRS Chairman Over Suspected Non-remittance Of Tax

President Muhammadu Buhari has issued a letter to Babatunde Fowler, Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, asking him to respond to discrepancies in tax collected by the agency. Fowler, whose tenure expired on Saturday, was asked to explain why there exist obvious differences between the budgeted collections and actual collections for the period 2015 to 2018. The letter to Fowler signed by Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, reads, “Your attached letter (FIRS/EC/CWP/0249/19/027 dated 26 July 2019) on the above subject matter, refers. “We observed significant…

Billionaire Tax Debtors pay N13b to FIRS within a month

Less than a month after it commenced its substitution of accounts of recalcitrant billionaire taxpayers, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has collected N12.66 in tax revenue. The Executive Chairman, FIRS, Tunde Fowler, disclosed this at the weekend when he received the new Minister of Finance, Hajia Zainab Ahmed during his spot visit to Revenue House, FIRS headquarters in Abuja. Fowler spoke as Hajia Zainab Ahmed, the new finance minister commended the agency for shoring-up the non-oil revenue: “The Ministry of Finance will continue to work collaboratively with FIRS to…

FIRS generates N4.03tn from tax in 2017 – Fowler

The Federal Inland Revenue Service said it collected a total of N4.03tn in the 2017 fiscal period. The collection of N4.03tn according to a statement issued by the agency represents 82.38 per cent of government target of N4.89tn for the year. The revenue of N4.03tn, is however, N720bn more than the 2016 total collection figure of N3.3tn. An analysis of the collection performance indicates that taxes from non-oil sources accounted for 63 per cent, while oil tax accounted for 38 per cent of the total collection. Stamp Duty recorded the most…

FG Generates N17bn from VAIDS

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) says that the Federal Government has realised the sum of N17 billion from the Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) inaugurated in July. Mr Babatunde Flower, the FIRS Executive Chairman, said this in Lagos on Wednesday, at a media workshop on VAIDS. Flower said that the N17 billion was voluntarily paid by some companies through VAIDS, an amnesty programme inaugurated by the government for taxpayers to regularise their tax status relating to previous tax periods. According to him, the initiative is making progress…

FIRS hits 79.35 per cent of 2017 collection target in 10 months – Fowler

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), on Monday in Abuja, said it generated N3.233 trillion in 10 months, an amount that represented 79.35 per cent of its collection target for 2017. The Executive Chairman of FIRS, Tunde Fowler, disclosed this at interactive session for review of 2018–2020 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP), organised by House of Representatives Committee on Finance and Appropriations. The FIRS boss who briefed the joint committees on key strategies for achieving the objectives of the 2018 budget, said FIRS justification for…