In a bid to ensure strict compliance with tax payment, the Federal Inland Revenue Service says it is working towards adopting the National Identification Number (NIN) database to ramp up the registration of taxpayers.

The move was disclosed by the FIRS chairman, Muhammad Nami, at the 147th meeting of the Joint Tax Board (JTB) tagged ‘Strategic Initiative for Sustainable Revenue Generation: Prospects, Challenges, and Next Steps,’ held in Kaduna.

Mr Nami said the agency was making arrangements with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) in data collection, and profiling in the country, Channels TV reported.

According to him, the new development will ensure that taxable persons are made to pay taxes promptly and honestly.

The chairman also noted that electronic taxation (e-Tax) will be adopted in order to minimise issues bordering on tax leakages, tax evasion, as well as improve the fiscal position of state governments.

Emphasising that people tend to evade payment of taxes by making monies privately, Mr Nami noted that the new development would tackle challenges facing the country.

Speaking further, he maintained that it was pertinent that states and federal revenue-generating agencies adopt the new development.

In his remarks, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna appealed to revenue generation agencies at both federal and state level to develop a new reform of modifying the consumer tax whereby people would pay a fair share of what they consume, this, according to him, would be of great advantage to Nigeria.

For Mr El-Rufai, the future of Nigeria no longer lies in revenue from oil, due to the dwindling crude oil prices in the international market.