We’ve sustained autonomy of LIRS ― Sanwo-Olu

Lagos state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Tuesday, said the State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) has enjoyed unrestrained independence under his watch, assuring that its autonomy would not be tampered with but continue to be strengthened to enable it to achieve its yearly revenue targets.

Sanwo-Olu gave this assurance while receiving leadership and members of Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) led by its Chairman, Dame Olajumoke Simplice, on a courtesy visit to the State House in Alausa.

The governor said his government had fortified the agency by prioritising its monthly subventions and motivated its personnel to drive up efficiency, pointing out that LIRS monthly allocation got to them as the first-line charge as he did not even need to approve before their overhead got them.

“In terms of independence, LIRS has enjoyed complete freedom to operate and we are strengthening the agency for improved efficiency. This is why my administration prioritises any request from the agency. LIRS monthly allocation gets to them as the first-line charge and I don’t even need to approve before their overhead gets to them.

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“We have made everything available in order to motivate LIRS to deliver on its mandate and we will continue to support the agency for improvement. I recently approved an increment in LIRS staff remuneration, because we know how important the success of the agency is to my administration,” he said.

Governor Sanwo-Olu said his administration’s tax drive was not to hurt the residents and businesses operating in the state, but the government needed to widen the tax net in order to get key promises of his administration delivered.

He lauded members of the Institute for strengthening public institutions on revenue generation drive through regular capacity building and interventions that benefited the state.

Earlier in her remark, Mrs Simplice said despite the innovative approach deployed by the Lagos government in its tax administration, the state, according to her, could achieve improved efficiency and growth in its revenue generation.

She urged Governor Sanwo-Olu to appoint tax professionals as decision-makers in strategic departments and agencies of government, adding that Lagos must re-invigorate its tax advocacy to capture those in the informal sector.