Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, has identified cooperation and collaboration among key stakeholders, including taxpayers and subnational governments, as crucial to the hitch-free implementation of the new tax laws.

Mr Adedeji noted that FIRS, which is transitioning to the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), cannot in isolation bring about the success envisaged with the new laws, calling on the private sector, institutions and agencies across all levels to join hands to achieve the desired outcome. 

This was just as the chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, said the country was no longer where it was before the advent of President Bola Tinubu-led administration in terms of gloomy economic outlook. 

 A statement by the Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS chairman, Dare Adekanmbi, said the duo spoke in Abuja on Monday at a special engagement session organised for directors in the tax agency by the committee held at Abuja Continental Hotel.

The FIRS chairman expressed the readiness to position the tax agency as a partner in development working with all critical stakeholders to achieve the desired outcomes for the country by ensuring that the laws and tax policies were implemented fairly, consistently and transparently. 

He said, “Our collective posture should be one of readiness to listen, adapt and deliver. A key pillar of the reforms is capacity building. The demands of modern tax administration, from digitalisation to data-driven compliance, cross-border taxation, and specialised industries, require new skills and approaches. As directors, you will lead the charge in equipping our officers with the knowledge, tools, and confidence to implement the law effectively, while providing support to taxpayers.’’ 

He promised to ensure the agency invests “in training, technology, and systems that enhance efficiency, reduce compliance costs, and strengthen trust in the system.”

In his opening remarks, Mr Oyedele reiterated that the country was no longer where it used to be according to the latest economic indices, stressing that the gains of the reforms were already yielding positive macro results.

Dwelling on the specifics, he said the country’s balance of trade remained surplus from the deficit it was before May 2023, noting that the country was no longer printing money to meet its needs.

He added that the Tinubu-led administration cleared unmet forex backlog, improved external reserves to $23billion in just two years, with the economic outlook set to be more robust going forward. 

 He, however, emphasized that while the macro-economic results were positive, greater efforts must be made to ensure they translated to reduction in poverty rate and lead to job creation.