Oyo State Government has expressed its readiness to collaborate with the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) to boost its Internal Generated Revenue (IGR).
The state commissioner for Finance and Budget, Mr. Abimbola Adekanmbi, stated this on Thursday, in Ibadan, while declaring open the Mandatory Professional Training Programme (MPTP) by the State Board of Internal Revenue (BIR) in Partnership with CITN.
Adekanmbi explained that the state can no longer depend on the Federal Allocation for their income which necessitated the need to boost the IGR, and consequently commended the CITN for joining hands with the State Government in organizing the Mandatory Professional Training Programme.
Speaking at the programme, the President of the Institute, Dr. Teju Somorin, represented by Chief Otitoloju Ayodele said that CITN is collaborating with the Oyo State Government with the discovery that it was only the private sector and the Government officials that have been paying their taxes regularly.
“We now want to bring in the informal sector into the tax net so that they can comply with the tax regulations and perform their civic responsibilities to assist the Government. This will give everybody the opportunity to enjoy the dividends of the government,” the CITN president added
In his own remarks, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Board of Internal Revenue, Mr. Biyi Oloko said that the collaboration was a good development for the State, saying that the programme would be used to enlighten the people on the different types of taxes and the need to pay their taxes regularly.
In her comment, the Head of Informal Sector at the BIR, Mrs. Tewogbade Deborah described the programme as a good one which would enable the people of the State to know more about taxation law and why they have to pay taxes regularly.