FEDERAL INLAND REVENUE SERVICE (FIRS) REFORM AND TAX COMPLIANCE IN NIGERIA

Tax is one of the sources of revenue of the government. Today, countries across the world are beginning to increasing their tax base to meet the increasing demand of their citizens. Besides, data for this study were collected from secondary sources such as books, journals, and internet sources while content analysis was used to analyze the data collected. This study seeks to investigate the impact of FIRS reform on tax compliance in Nigeria. This study revealed that the FIRS has signed some international treaties such as Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreements (ADTAs) and Global Forum on Transparency. It has also set Exchange of information (EOI), Base Erosion and Prot Shifting (BEPS), and launched the tax amnesty. The FIRS has engaged in Inter-agency with governmental institutions such as the EFCC and ICPC etc. besides, the outcome of the efforts of the FIRS has seen in the increase in annual tax payments in 2018 it collected N5,320 trillion which was the highest in the history of revenue collection since the establishment of the FIRS. Besides, the FIRS recorded a reduction in the cost of revenue collection from 2.6% in 2016 to 2.49% in 2017 and 2.14%. in 2018. Lastly, this study suggests among other things that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) should strengthen its enlightenment campaign mechanisms on tax compliance by extending its campaign to rural areas where there is low-level tax education. This can be achieved when the FIRS takes tax compliance to traditional rulers who will in turn pass the information to the people.

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