NRS: Putting Trust At Heart Of Revenue Drive

Taxation is more than a means of raising revenue for government; it is a reflection of the relationship between the state and its citizens. When taxpayers consider the system fair, transparent and predictable, they are more likely to meet their obligations, while businesses can plan investments with greater confidence.

Where confidence is weak, businesses may remain informal to avoid an uncertain or costly tax system, limiting economic activity and government revenue. Thus, in bringing together public confidence, revenue mobilisation and economic development, the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) unveiled its new tagline, “Inspiring Trust, Sustaining Growth.”

The phrase is a pointer to the Service’s ambition to move beyond the traditional emphasis on tax collection towards a broader revenue administration system that supports businesses and strengthens the country’s capacity to finance development.

For Nigeria, where the Federal Government is seeking to improve domestic revenue generation while pursuing its ambition to grow the economy to $1 trillion by 2030, the challenge is not simply to collect more revenue but to build an efficient system that supports productive economic activity.

The new tagline comes as the NRS pursues reforms aimed at improving collection efficiency, expanding revenue coverage and reducing the administrative burden on businesses. Speaking at the unveiling, the Chief of Staff to the Executive Chairman of the NRS, Tayo Koleosho, said the new identity reflected the Service’s commitment to building confidence in revenue administration.

“The new tagline is ‘Inspiring Trust, Sustaining Growth’. And that encapsulates what the new NRS serves to deliver to Nigerians,” he said, noting that taxpayers must be confident that their data would be protected, assessments would be fair, and dealings with the revenue authority would be conducted professionally. “For increased revenue generation and collection, Nigerians need to trust the Service,” he stated.

One of the major ways the NRS intends to translate its new identity into practice is through digitalisation and improved tax administration. This is evident through its innovative reforms, which have brought forth solutions that have eased and encouraged tax compliance.

According to Koleosho, the NRS is focused on improving collection efficiency rather than increasing tax rates, expressing confidence that the government’s 2026 revenue target would be achieved through stronger administration, economic expansion and increased productivity. “The country is able to collect more revenue without raising the rate, by improving on the efficiency across the entire ecosystem,” he said.

Among the initiatives supporting this approach are electronic invoicing and the new 360 tax payment system, designed to simplify compliance and reduce the time businesses spend meeting their tax obligations. Koleosho noted that the initiatives have helped reduce disruptions to business operations during tax payments.

As complicated procedures and high compliance costs can discourage businesses, particularly smaller enterprises, from participating fully in the formal economy, the NRS hopes to make tax payments less cumbersome while strengthening revenue monitoring and collection by simplifying processes and improving access to digital services.

Digitalisation can also improve transaction accuracy, support better use of data and reduce administrative inefficiencies. However, the benefits will depend on reliable systems, adequate taxpayer education and the ability of businesses of different sizes to adapt to the changes.

The objective is to make it easier for businesses to fulfil their obligations while improving the government’s ability to collect revenue due under existing laws. Koleosho expressed confidence that the combination of economic expansion and administrative improvements would sustain revenue performance through the end of the year.

Beyond digitalisation, the NRS leadership maintains that revenue collection should not undermine the businesses expected to generate it. Koleosho said the Service recognised that expanding enterprises would ultimately provide a wider base for government revenue.

He referred to the philosophy of the NRS Executive Chairman, Dr Zacch Adedeji, that the Service seeks to “tax the fruit, not the seed. The more you grow, the more the tax authority collects. So that will then help us to sustain the growth on our side,” he said.

This principle places business expansion at the centre of sustainable revenue mobilisation. As enterprises increase production and employ more workers, economic activity expands, creating opportunities for higher collections over time.

For small businesses operating informally, the decision to formalise may depend on whether the benefits, including access to credit, legal protection and wider markets, outweigh the costs of entering the formal system.

A predictable tax regime can encourage businesses to expand and invest for the long term, while uncertainty over assessments and complicated procedures can discourage investment. The NRS will therefore need to ensure that its processes are transparent and that taxpayers receive consistent treatment.

The new tagline also reflects the institutional transition from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to the Nigeria Revenue Service under a new legal framework that broadens its responsibilities beyond conventional tax collection. The Group Director, Transformation and Strategy at the NRS, Alfred Okoh, said the new identity was designed to reflect the Service’s wider mandate, including the administration of non-tax revenues.

“We are now a new revenue administration, and we’re not just talking taxes. So, there are non-tax revenues that we are also accounting for with the new tax law, and therefore, the new tagline is reflective of that ambition,” he said.

The change represents a shift from the previous FIRS tagline, “It pays to pay your tax,” towards a broader message encompassing revenue administration and economic development. The expanded mandate will require effective coordination, stronger institutional capacity and better use of data to improve how revenue is assessed, collected and accounted for.

For the NRS, the transformation is intended to create a modern, integrated, technology-enabled and responsive institution capable of supporting the Federal Government’s revenue objectives.

However, a broader mandate also places greater responsibility on the Service to demonstrate transparency and accountability. Its credibility will depend on whether taxpayers experience meaningful improvements in service delivery.

For the NRS, “Inspiring Trust, Sustaining Growth” is therefore more than a new institutional identity. It represents a commitment to making revenue administration fairer, more efficient, and more responsive, while expanding the resources available to the government.