Buhari Laments Dwindling Revenue, To Generate N1 trn From Stamp Duty

By Akinwale Kasali

Nigerian could earn over N1 trillion from stamp duty, President Muhammadu Buhari has said, even as the federal government laments that revenue from crude oil could no longer sustain the economy.

“Stamp duty will be second to oil revenue, as it has the potential to yield up to a trillion naira if properly harnessed,” Buhari said at an event in Abuja on Wednesday.

The president vowed to recover a backlog of unremitted Stamp Duty Tax, SDT in the last six years, as part of its new revenue drive.

Buhari who was represented by Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF at the inauguration of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Audit and Recovery of Back Years Stamp Duties and the Launch of the FIRS Adhesive Stamp, in Abuja yesterday, said his administration is looking for other sources of income to compliment revenue from the nation’s mainstay, crude oil.

He explained that it’s no longer sustainable to depend solely on oil, judging from the events of the last few months.

He said: “In the face of dwindling oil revenue, and the global shift away from oil-dependent technological products, it is even more compelling now to begin to think out of the box in order to safeguard the future of our country.

Therefore, this administration has resolved to widen the revenue base by activating stamp duties revenue collection which has been neglected for more than 20 years.

I hereby also direct and request that all relevant MDAs, particularly the Central Bank of Nigeria, NIBBS, MDBs, FIRS, NIPOST should give maximum cooperation to the Committee in the discharge of its mandate.”

Going forward, the president said accruals from stamp duty must be remitted to the Single Treasury Account domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Nami, the chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Services, FIRS, has disclosed that the Service has grown revenues from Stamp Duties by over 1,000 per cent, totalling N66 billion in the first five months of 2020 alone, compared with N6 billion naira collected from January to May 2019.

He attributed this increase to the Finance Act 2019, and the deployment of technology and stakeholders’ collaboration.

Nami said, “The introduction of the FIRS Stamp Duties Adhesive Stamp will, among other things, plug the revenue sink-hole; enable proper accountability and transparency; simplify the administration of Stamp Duties; and reduce disputes.”

Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, had earlier promised that the National Assembly will continue to support all government revenue generating agencies.