Niger Revenue boss calls for cooperation in income generation for economic sustainability

Critical stakeholders in revenue generations have been admonished to support the Local Government revenue law of 2020 aimed at revamping the economy and improving the quality of lives of the people.

The Executive Chairman of Niger State Internal revenue services, Mohammed Madami Etsu, made this known in a statement copied to CAPITAL POST in Minna, explaining that the law was initiated based on pressing economic issues as a result of the dwindling revenue of the state and local government stressing the need to improve development in the state.

According to Etsu, government is committed to delivering the dividends of democracy to the people in the area of security, social services and prompt payment of salaries to the civil servants stating that the law is not meant to operate in isolation, but to complement other existing revenue laws as provided in the Constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.

He enumerated other area of taxation to include, the personal income Tax Act, laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004 as was amended and the Niger State revenue collection and administration law 2011 among others.

“This harmonized legislation of 2020 is not meant to usurp the powers of Local Government councils to collect revenue in their jurisdiction as provided by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, but to create a synergy between the State and the 25 Local Government councils in a collective revenue drive.

“This will reduce the incidence of multiple taxation, increase the assessment and collection capacities and boost the quantum of internally generated revenue for both tiers of goverment” Madami Etsu noted.

Already, according to the statement, the state internal revenue services has set up an implementation committee under the leadership of Alhaji Mohammed Murtala King, the coordinator of Revenue matters, and has since commenced touring all the 25 local government councils for sensitization of stakeholders, training of revenue staff and deployment of technology for immediate take off.

In a pilot exercise conducted with Bosso local government, tremendous increase in its IGR collections has been noticed due to the deployment of technology in the revenue collection efforts according to the statement has encouraged transparency and accountability in the system.

Governor Abubakar Sani Bello had on the 22nd September, 2020 signed the harmonized bill passed by the Niger State House of assembly into law which repeal the local government harmonized rates and levies for collection, 2016.