…Says Only 10%-10% Nigerians Pay Taxes
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has set N20 trillion tax revenue target for collection this fiscal year, even as it lamented that between 10 to 19 percent of Nigerians currently pay taxes.
The FIRS’ Executive Chairman, Dr. Zacch Adedeji, made these disclosures on Tuesday during the Children’s Day 2025 event in Abuja, where the FIRS, in collaboration with Arojah Concepts and Sprezzatura Publishing Ltd, launched a new book titled ‘Taxation: Essential Knowledge for Nigerian Children’.
The aims of the partnership of the revenue service and the publishing outfit are to foster early tax education and cultivate a generation of fiscally responsible citizens.
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Speaking at the event, the FIRS’ boss, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Research and Statistics, Aisha Hamman, underscored the critical link between tax education and compliance.
According to him, the research conducted by the revenue service “reveals a troubling statistic: only about 10 to 19 per cent of Nigerians pay taxes, a figure far below the average in many African countries.”
Adedeji pointed out that this low compliance rate underscored the urgent need for innovative approaches to tax awareness, particularly among the youth, adding that by “educating children early, we can build a future where tax compliance is a norm, not an exception.”
He explained that the book launch on the Children’s Day 2025, reflected the FIRS’s commitment to embedding tax education in the fabric of Nigerian society, adding that early exposure to the principles of taxation could transform the mindset of young Nigerians, making them more likely to fulfill their civic duties as adults.
While outlining the revenue agency’s long-term vision to boost compliance through education, the tax administrator stressed that “it’s far easier to mold young minds into responsible, tax-paying citizens than to reform adults who evade taxes.”
Adedeji further clarified that the FIRS’ N20 trillion target for 2025 was part of a broader strategy to strengthen Nigeria’s revenue base through tax reforms and the harmonization of tax bills, expressing optimism that with the FIRS actively working to close revenue leakages and ensure more Nigerians are brought into the tax net, the revenue target will be surpassed this year.
He assured: “We are addressing loopholes and implementing reforms to make taxation more efficient and equitable. With these efforts, we are poised to not only meet but exceed our N20 trillion target in the coming years.”
In her remarks at the event, co-author of the book and Technical Assistant on Broadcast Media to the FIRS Chairman, Aderonke Atoyebi, explained that the publication simplified the complexities of taxation for young readers while emphasizing its role in governance and national development
She said: “This book is a tool to teach children the value of civic responsibility and how taxes contribute to building a better Nigeria.”
Atoyebi disclosed that over 60,000 copies of the book would be distributed to schools, universities, and libraries nationwide as part of the revenue agency’s drive towards improved tax education in the country.
