FALL IN CRUDE OIL PRICE: GOV OKOWA OF DELTA STATE MAKES CASE FOR IMPROVED TAXATION

AS the economic situation of Nigeria remains gloomy as a result of continuous down slide of crude oil price in the international market, Delta State Governor, Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa has challenged the Board of Internal Revenue (DBIR) to ensure that everybody within the tax net was captured.
The Governor gave the charge today (18/01/16) during a 2-day stakeholders retreat on internally generated revenue organized by the DBIR, at the Songhai-Delta, Amukpe, Sapele.
According to the Governor, "this summit is very important because we need money to develop the state, we need money to drive our SMART agenda and with the dwindling oil price at the international market, we need to drive our IGR to a state we can say, we are doing very well."
"What we generate every month is a little over N3 billion and I don't believe that with the expanse of businesses in Delta State, that we have captured everybody within the tax net with such," he said. emphasizing, "I expect that within this year, I expect you (DBIR) to generate twice that amount of money, it is achievable; we have a population of over 5 million persons, with many growing cities, every hand must be on deck, we must go out, reach out to the people on the need to pay tax and devise ways to get every taxable person."
The Governor added, "oil revenue can no longer satisfy our needs, it is a statement of fact and not paying tax by anybody is a criminal offense, it is fraudulent; tax is not to inflict pains on the very poor but to ensure that everybody is taxed based on the amount of money he generates."
Earlier, Chairman of DBIR, Sir Monday Onyeme had said the theme of the retreat was, "Improving IGR - a collective responsibility of all Deltans for the actualization of the SMART agenda," saying, "we are urgently putting in place new strategies and initiatives and fine tuning old ones to adapt them to the realities of today."
"Strategic intelligence is being deployed with a view to swooping decisively on the largely untapped informal sector; the tax net is being expanded and we shall continue to do so until every tax payer is brought in," he said.

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