The Kogi State government on Wednesday said it was set for the full implementation of the Stamp Duty Act as the state target N10 as monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
The state commissioner for information and communication, Kingsley Fanwo, who said this statement in Lokoja, the state capital, said the Act was an opportunity for the state to increase her revenue.
According to the statement, government would embark on massive sensitisation to orientate the people on the operation of the Act.
Fanwo said, “The Kogi State Internal Revenue Service (KGIRS) has a mandate to take in billions into our coffers on monthly basis to enable government meets the aspirations and needs of the people of Kogi State.
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“As a government rooted in the hearts of the people, it is not our idea to impose heavy taxes on the people. But we are looking at areas where previous administrations did not see.
“The stamp duty act is a massive revenue pot that the administration will explore to generate as much as we can for the welfare and development of our dear state.
“We cannot continue to rely on the dwindling revenue from the Federation Account. The situation has taught us to invent ways of generating more revenue internally without heaping heavy burden on our people.
“We wish to inform the general public that the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service will immediately activate the hitherto dormant stamp duty revenue line in the state. Every revenue is important to the government as the Governor is working hard to fulfill his social contract with the people of Kogi State.”
Fanwo said the activation of the act was in line with the “New Direction” agenda of the Governor Yahaya Bello administration to diversify its revenue source in the face of the dwindling inflow from the center.
He said some of the items covered by the stamp duty were Flat Rate Charges, Ordinary Receipts, Ordinary Tenancy Agreement, Certificate of Occupancy, Affidavit Affirmations, statutory declaration, declaration of age, declaration of loss of items and declaration of ownership of properties. Others are Collateral security, Bond(Ordinary), Agreement (Memo of any agreement), Appointment of Trustees or attorney, Proxy forms or cards and J. Notories Act.
The Commissioner said the Advalorem Charges (Varying charges) include the following:
Contract agreement, Land agreement, Lease agreement, sublease agreement, Leasehold agreement or Rent agreement, deed of assignment, deed of ratification and Deed of confirmation.
Others are Deed of release, hire purchase, Legacy(immovable), Promissory note/IOU and many others.
It would be recalled that the state government under the leadership of Bello assented to the bill to create the Act in 2016, becoming the second state after Lagos to domesticate the act.
Fanwo said government would do further sensitisation to carry the populace along and ensure the people have a buy-in to make the operation seamless and successful, assuring that it is in the interest of the state and the people.
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