Fowler, who stated this in his speech delivered at the North-Central zone regional flag-off of the New Tax Identification Number (TIN) Registration System and National Consolidated Taxpayer Database, which held at the Banquet Hall of the Kara State Government House, Ilorin.
According to him, the jump in revenue collection by states has been underpinned by the economic policies of the Federal Government, which, among other things, have resulted in the expansion of the national tax base from 10million to 20million and is expected to rise to 45million by the end of the year; growth in the collections by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) from N3. 30 trillion in 2016 to N5. 32 trillion in 2018, the highest ever and representing 53.81%; while non-oil revenue climbed to N2. 85trillion, an equivalent of 54% of the total revenue generation.
Fowler, who is also the Chairman of the FIRS, explained that the New TIN Registration System is underpinned by a common desire by stakeholders to drive the financial regeneration of the country.
This desire, he says will be strengthened by the new system, which will lay the foundation for the government at all levels to have access to the funding required to drive socio-economic growth and development exclusive of aids, grants, and borrowing.
Flower noted that the choice of Kwara State for the North-Central regional flag-off of the New system was strategic. Saying over the last four years, the state has been a leading light in ensuring sustainable internally generated revenue profile for itself and the region.
He says: “Having achieved a 221% increase in its collection from N7.1billion in 2015 at the time of attaining its autonomous status to N23 billion in 2018, Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS) has become a benchmark for revenue authorities not just within the North Central Region, but nationwide as well.
“It is worthy of note that KWIRS is the only state revenue agency in the country to have been ISO certified, with ISO 9001 for Quality Management System and ISO/IEC 22301 for Business Continuity Management System.”
Adding that, other states in the region are not left behind, as Niger and Nasarawa States are among the top 15 states with an annual growth rate in excess of 20%.
The New TIN Registration System, Fowler explained, improves the efficiency and output of the entire tax administration process and enhances convenience to the taxpayers as well as the tax administrators while guaranteeing that each taxpayer’s details are readily available to them at all times and anywhere.
“A significant feature of the New System is that it possesses the capability to integrate with all relevant agencies by leveraging on already captured data. With its ability to deploy analytics to discover underlying correlating trends and patterns, better visibility of the taxpayer is assured inherently leading to increased Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for all tiers of government.
“Thus, the new system reduces the burden of taxpayer information management, while at the same time significantly reducing the cost of collection,” said Fowler.
The Joint Tax Board chairman then assured that the firm foundations which are being laid; will not only manifest in the economic transformation of states and region but also for the nation as a whole.
