Revenue Shortfall: FIRS, DBIR collaborate with Entertainment Industry

In a bid to create greater awareness on the need for citizens to pay their taxes so as to shore up government revenue, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS and Delta State Board of Internal Revenue, DBIR have sought collaboration with entertainment industry stakeholders to seek practical ways of strengthening government and entertainment industry relationship, Our Delta North Correspondent reports.

The engagement session which was tagged "Day of Glamour and Civic Responsibility" held at Elomas Hotel Asaba, Delta State capital.

The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Mr. Babatunde Fowler,  who was recently elected President of the African Tax Administration Forum, ATAF in Pretoria, South Africa in a remark said the current paradigm shift in Nigeria's economy calls for attention and concerted efforts towards the development of other critical sectors of the economy, adding that “without any doubt, the creative industry has opened new frontiers and economic opportunities in terms of wealth creation, knowledge economy, employment generation, local capacity utilization and revenue generation; with huge potential to leapfrog into emerging high-growth economy.”

Mr. Fowler who was represented at the occasion by Mr. Kola Okwola noted, “the extent to which an economy is able to grow sustainably and develop depends to a large extent, on its ability to generate tax revenue to finance its expenditure and the efficiency of its tax system.”

According to him, the recent re-basing of Nigeria's economy showed that the entertainment industry contributes over $6 billion to the newly rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

He noted that the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS revealed that the entertainment and creative arts industry grew by 8.4 percent in the first quarter of the year. As such, the government is excited and interested in supporting the industry to contribute more because this means more revenue to federal and state governments.

The FIRS Boss pointed that upcoming sectors of the economy must be nurtured and encouraged to grow so as to perform competitively on a global scale, saying it is the only way to attract revenue in both local and foreign currencies.

The Executive Chairman Delta State Board of Internal Revenue, Sir Monday John Onyeme called on Nigerians to pay their taxes, especially now that oil which is the main revenue source for Nigeria is fast depleting, warning that if care was not take the nation may plunge into a 'Banana Republic'.

He said the choice of using the entertainment industry to spearhead this initiative was not out of place because they are role models, saying when there's innovation it will sell faster, using entertainment industry as a drive.

He urged the citizens to always appreciate the Government of Delta State led by Dr Ifeanyi Okowa for satisfying the collective needs of Deltans, saying, it's difficult for any Government to satisfy the individual needs of each citizens.

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa represented by the State Head of Service, Mr. Reginald Bayoko,  commended the organisers for the initiative and called for effective tax system, saying effective tax system is a panacea for the dwindling economy currently facing the nation.

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