The Inspector of Taxes Forum (ITF) in Ogun State, has said that the state government can generate N21billion as revenue within six years, with the enrolment of 1.5 million taxpayers from the informal sector.
This the Forum said would help the state government to meet up with some financial obligations in view of the dwindling revenue from the federal account.
The Chairman of the Forum, Alhaji Adeleke Asiwaju, said this in his address during the second anniversary of the Forum held over the weekend in Abeokuta.
Asiwaju stated that this innovation would further boost the internally generated revenue of the state.
“We are trying to bring those in the informal sector into the tax net of Ogun State. Our target is to enrol at least 1.5 million taxpayers from the informal sector into the state tax net.
“Those in the informal sector span across all occupational groups, the medical doctors, lawyers and artisans and they constitute the bulk of the population of the state.
“Presently, almost 90 per cent of the revenue generated by the Ogun State Internal Revenue Service (OGIRS) is from the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) sector by employees in the public and private sectors and those in the informal sector, the self-employed pay little or no tax. And tax is our civic responsibility, so I think bringing them into the tax net is the right step in the right direction.
“From the estimated 1.5 million taxpayers within six years, the first year, we intend to bring in 500,000 taxpayers then subsequent years, 200,000 taxpayers will be enrolled into the tax net and that for five years amount to 1 million taxpayers, then plus those in the first year which is 500,000 will add up to 1.5 million taxpayers within six years.
“And at the end of the exercise, a total sum of N21billion after all the expenses have been deducted will be realised by the state government,” he said.
Asiwaju appealed to Governor Dapo Abiodun to consider tax inspectors for appointment as Permanent Secretaries and other top positions in the state civil service.
He lamented that since the creation of the state, only two tax inspectors had been appointed as Permanent Secretaries.
The OGIRS Executive Chairman, Olugenga Olaleye, said the Dapo Abiodun-led administration had put measures in place to stop multiple taxations by working with the local government councils to harmonise tax payable by the working class in the state.
Olaleye, who commended the forum for coming up with its proposal, stated that the only sustainable source of revenue generation for any economy is taxation, hence the need for the government to look into the proposal with the view of expanding the tax net of the state.
“We are trying to build up the tax net by bringing in taxpayers from the informal sector while also looking at how we can expand the taxpayers in the PAYE sector. If we get more people that are not in the tax net then we will be able to generate more revenue for the government,” he said.
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