FIRS Boss: FG To Seek Revenue From Other Sectors

FIRS has called for more attention and efforts as the economy continues on its current paradigm shift. It calls for development of other critical sectors of the economy for the much-needed revenue.

FIRS Chairman, Babatunde Fowler, made the call over weekend during his remarks at the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) in Pretoria, South Africa. He posits that, the creative industry in Nigeria has a huge potential to leapfrog into emerging high-growth economy. It has opened new frontiers and economic opportunities in terms of wealth creation, knowledge economy, employment generation, local capacity utilisation and revenue generation

Fowler was recently appointed President of the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF).

Kola Okunola who represented the FIRS Boss noted that the extent to which an economy can ensure sustainable development depends to a large extent, on the efficiency of its tax system and its ability to generate tax revenue to finance its expenditure.

According to him, the recent re-basing of Nigeria’s economy showed that the entertainment industry contributes over $6 billion to the newly rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

FIRS Extols The Creative Industry

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) stated that the entertainment and creative arts industry grew by 8.4 percent in the first quarter of the year. As such, the government is excited and interested in supporting the industry to contribute more because this means more revenue to federal and state governments.

“While government appreciates the fact that corporate and individual citizens must fulfill their civic responsibilities, the FIRS boss pointed that up coming sectors of the economy must be nurtured and encouraged to grow so as to perform competitively on a global scale which is the only way to attract revenue in both local and foreign currencies.