How to improve DRM in Nigeria

1. An efficient and aggressive driven Domestic ResourceMobilisation (DRM) is a
necessity in the post2015 development era. Improvement in this will assist a
developing country like Nigeria to effectively address issues such as poverty
alleviation improvement on the infrastructural needs of the country and
empower us to take ownership of our development strategies. With a dwindling
Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the nation looking inward is
therefore a necessity in the match towards the actualising of the SDGs.
Internally generated revenues from tax over the years have witnessed a decline
due to either tax evasion both by individuals and co-operateorganisations
operating in the country, unnecessary tax waivers and collected revenues ending
up in the hands of the collectors or not even collected at all. With an
improvement in the existing tax policy and tax administration which is currently
centred on the formal sectorof the economy, DRM from the informal sector of
the economy in most cases end up in the hands of the collectors.
Fig.1 Individual Business Operators that hardly pay any form of revenue
Fig 1& 2 depict individuals in the informal sectorof the economy who either
evade paying any form of revenue or whose revenue contribution never finds its
way into the government coffers.
Tax administrations in the country remain a major huddle in addition to corrupt
practices of some officers empowered to oversee revenue mobilisation for the
country. To therefor improve on the DRM in the country government must give
equal attention to both the formal and informal sectors ofthe economy by
upgrading its tax collection capacity, create a system that will effectively audit

2. its citizenry in picking out those who either evade tax or underpay, a use of
Information technology and prosecution of offenders caught in the act
accordingly. Also an introduction of an efficient tax administration tool that will
be able to pinpoints areas where improvement is required is also necessary.
Fig .2 Motorcycle Operator and Street hawkers