KWSG must harmonise tax system for increased IGR - Bello

A call has gone to the state and local governments in the state to as a matter of urgency, harmonise the tax system in the state for effectiveness and to guide against sharp practices, which militates against optimum derivable from taxes. A former member of the Kwara state House Assembly, Hon. Bello Emmanuel, who represented Lanwa/Ejidongari state constituency of Moro Local Government between 1999- 2003, expressed optimism that with the right tax system and policies, the revenue accruing to the state will in no time increase astronomically.

Bello, who spoke with this Pilot Business in Ilorin on Wednesday, lamented a situation whereby majority of Kwarans do not pay tax, while the few that pay, the money is not getting to government due to multiplicity of tax agents and tax accounts. He however advised the state and local government administrators in the state to re-organise the tax system of the state in order to increase the state Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), which will in-turn lead to increased revenue from the federation account, adding that “IGR is a major determinant of the sharing formula of the federation account,” he surmised. “The revenue collectors at the local government level, while some are staffers others are consultants, all these people however work at cross purposes as the taxes been paid go to different accounts, instead of the government account. “You will see a situation where a level 7 officer can afford to buy car worth N2million and build house worth several millions of naira after some months collecting revenue on government's behalf. That is why people lobby to be posted to revenue desk because they see it as a cash cow. “The government must harmonise the tax system as the taxes are going into wrong accounts, as taxes are supposed to go directly into the consolidated revenue account legally and not any other account as being witnessed. This is affecting the revenue accruable to the state from the federation account as the IGR of each state contribute considerably to the sharing formula of the federation account,” he added.

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