Nigeria collected a record 5.5 trillion naira ($7 billion) of revenue in the first half as the government improves the tax-collection process in Africa’s biggest economy, the head of the Federal Inland Revenue Service said.

According to Bloomberg, the amount surpassed the 5.3 trillion-naira target set by the government for the period, and collections are expected to improve further in the second half, Executive Chairman Muhammad Nami told reporters Thursday in the capital, Abuja. The West African nation collected 10.1 trillion naira of taxes last year.

“This half-year performance was achieved as a result of improved voluntary tax compliance by taxpayers, the continued improvement of automation of our tax administration processes, including the updated VAT filing processes; as well as our dogged engagement with stakeholders in both the formal and informal sectors of the economy,” Nami said.

Tax collection from the non-oil sector contributed 69% of the total, with oil taxes accounting for the rest, according to the revenue service. Revenue totaled 1.65 trillion naira in June alone — the highest amount collected by the service in any single month, according to Muhammad Nami, the agency’s executive chairman.

“This is a good head start as we work toward meeting our target for the year, despite stubborn headwinds such as the impact of the currency redesign and 2023 general elections on the economy in the first and second quarters of 2023,” he said. “We believe that the performance in the second half of the year would be better considering the continuing improvement to our tax administration processes and positive impact of current government’s policies on the economy.”

Source: Ruth Olurounbi, YahooNews