2023 budget: Taraba in charge of VAT, not FG  — Commissioner

The Taraba State Government on Wednesday said the State government would henceforth be in charge of the Value Added Tax (VAT) and not the federal government as measure to boost independent revenue to finance the 2023 budget.

With this development, the Taraba government has joined Rivers and Lagos States in the collection of VAT which was hitherto being collected by the Federal Government through the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Hon. Solomon Elisha disclosed this while answering questions from journalists during a press conference to break down the 2023 Taraba State budget in Jalingo.

Elisha who announced that the State was able to generate N11.030 billion in 2022, the highest ever internally generated revenue noted that the State is projected to generate N19.388 billion by end of 2023.

“Yes, the State government is going to be in charge of collecting VAT. To finance the 2023 budget of N173.234 bn, the sum of N73.371bn is expected to come from the share of statutory allocation, while N19.388bn is the projected independent revenue including VAT.

“Similarly, N39.920bn is expected to come from aides and grants, while another N39.954 will come from capital development fund receipts,” he said.

The Commissioner who said the budget was prepared in accordance with the National Chart of Accounts (NCoA) noted that the budget provision will be used to complete important ongoing projects and provide the framework for the new administration to build on.

He told journalists that as part of measures to get more money for capital projects, the State government has put in place measures to improve revenue generation through blocking of leakages, emphasising new sources, creating fiscal space for infrastructural development and strict monitoring and evaluation measures.

“All these measures are part of deliberate government attempts in the mobilization of revenue to reduce dependence on federal allocation in the financing of the State projects,” he said.

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