The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has said that the Federal Government is eyeing a Value Added Tax (VAT) of 5 trillion naira in 2024 while also putting mechanisms in place to close identified tax gaps.

It also said that the Federal Government was ready to align with the Economic Community of West Africa State’s (ECOWAS) directive on tax reform.

The Chairman of the FIRS, ZACCH ADEDEJI, said this at a press conference organised by the Support Programme for Tax Transactions in West Africa in Abuja.

The FIRS chairman who said VAT has been on the increase since 2019 added that the government is aligning with Article 30 of the ECOWAS on tax reforms.

According to him, this target represents an increase of 56.91 per cent from the previous year’s actual and 67.91 per cent from the previous year’s target.

ADEDEJI said there was also a discussion at the National Assembly to pass the VAT reform into law, after which, it is expected that the VAT would increase to about 5 trillion naira from the current 3.6 trillion naira.