Exclusive: Nigeria hunts down 700,000 firms in tax crackdown to offset oil slump

[WorldNews]

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By Alexis Akwagyiram ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria has hunted down 700,000 firms that have never paid taxes as the country seeks new revenue sources to offset low oil prices that have pushed Africa's biggest economy into its first recession in more than 20 years, its tax chief said. Tunde Fowler, executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), said in a rare interview that he also expected 10 million individuals to be discovered by December and made to pay taxes for the first time. The government, struggling to fund a record 6.06 trillion naira ($18.6 billion) 2016 budget that aims to stimulate growth by tripling capital expenditure, set FIRS a target of raising 4.95 trillion naira in taxes, up from 3.73 trillion last year.

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