The Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Mr Babatunde Fowler, has approved the transfer of 26 directorate cadre staff and the introduction of state coordinators.

According to a statement released by the revenue agency, this is part of plans to widen the tax base by adding five million new individual taxpayers to the country-wide tax register, by December 2016.

According to the new arrangement, each of the 13 state coordinators will supervise operations in their areas of jurisdiction. Two directors were moved to the headquarters in Abuja.

The state structure is part of the vision of the new FIRS Chairman to pay closer attention on corporate taxpayers in all states of the federation, and stronger collaboration with state boards of internal revenue, to increase overall tax yield accruable to the three tiers of government.