TheCable

Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), says there is potential for high revenue accretion from stamp duty collection such that it would only be second to crude oil earnings.

Mustapha was speaking on Tuesday at the inauguration of the inter-ministerial committee on audit and recovery of stamp duty.

According to the SGF, stamp duty collection could generate as high as N1 trillion annually.

Mustapha noted that the government decided to widen the revenue base by activating the stamp duty collection which has been neglected for more than 20 years.

“This has become more important now that the projected revenue realizable from all sources available to the government as per our 2020 budget estimates is far lower than the projected expenses leading to a budget deficit of over N5 trillion,” Mustapha said.

“The government has recognized the fact that for meaningful development to be achieved, it has to look inwards to use every available means to shore up its revenue-generating capacity. For too long the country has depended on oil as the main cash cow of the economy even though it is richly endowed with other viable revenue yielding sources.

“In the face of dwindling oil revenue, and the global shift away from oil-dependent technological products, it is even more compelling now to begin to think out of the box in order to safeguard the future of our country.

“There is an assurance that the collection from stamp duty will be second to oil revenue, as it has the potential to yield up to a trillion naira revenue annually if properly harnessed.

“The inter-ministerial audit and recover committee, in essence, is therefore expected to judiciously undertake an audit and recover, on behalf of the government, all stamp duties charged from January 2016 to date but yet to be remitted by the relevant ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), money deposit banks (MDBs) and Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System PLC (NIBSS), amongst others.”

The SGF noted that the inter-ministerial audit committee members are people of proven integrity and extensive experience drawn from the relevant agencies of government to be chaired by the office of the attorney-general of the federation (AGF).