Provide basic facilities to demand for taxes, financial expert tells govts

MR Momoh Aliyu, a Financial expert and Managing Director of Cyber1 Systems Network International, has urged governments at all levels to provide basic infrastructure, to demand taxes from citizens.

Aliyu gave the advice while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday.

He explained that there was no justification for any government to demand taxes from citizenry without providing the required basic facilities to enhance business activities.

He said that because federal and state governments had not met with their responsibilities in terms of provision of basic infrastructure, they found it difficult to get taxes from people.

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The financial expert enjoined the in-coming state governors in 2019 elections to think outside the box, to find other ways other than the usual monthly allocation to generate revenues for their states.

According to him, governors have not learnt any lesson after the economic hardship experienced by some states.

No fewer than 19 states could not pay salaries of workers before they were given bailout fund by the Federal Government.

Aliyu noted that most states in the country generated revenue below their personnel cost which could not meet up other operational costs.

“The bailout fund, although was given as a salary bailout for most states, it was channelled to other operational costs for obvious reasons.

“Many of the states that received the bailout have not learnt any lesson on what to do to generate revenue or to prioritise expenditure, to prevent further economic crises in their states,” he said.