The Edo Internal Revenue Service has said that no fewer than 5,000 new jobs will be created in Edo state with the planned deployment of the innovative technology-based Edo Revenue Administration System (ERAS).

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of EIRS, Mr. Igbinidu Inneh, said that the technology-driven revenue collection scheme will automate revenue collection process from data capture, profiling, assessment generation and notification to cashless settlement. He said that it will require the deployment of persons to serve as distributors, sub-distributors, retailers, and enumerators across the 192 wards in the
state.

According to Inneh, “the ERAS will boost Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for the state by expanding the tax net and enhancing payment convenience for citizens.”

On the jobs that the initiative will throw up, he said, “The deployment of innovative technology-based revenue administration scheme will require the services of dealers, sub-dealers, retail personnel of the dealers and enumerators as partners for collection of taxes, levies and charges from residents, business premises, operators of heavy vehicles which include trucks, buses, taxis, tricycles, among others.”

Inneh explained that over 5,000 direct and indirect jobs will be created across the value chain that has card producer, super EIRS, dealers,
sub-dealers, taxpayers, banks, amongst other participants in the 18 local government areas of the state.

He noted that associated revenues to be collected will include: haulage, waste management, log control, presumptive taxes, and produce, adding that the innovative solution system is delivered as part of the strategic institutional transformation of the EIRS and feeds off the governor's objective to transform the state into an innovation hub.

The EIRS boss said enumerators have been engaged and deployed as they are going around to collect data of tax payers in the 18 local government areas of the state, adding that, “the current tax base which grew within weeks of testing ERAS from just about 190,000 to over 250,000, will double within the first six months of operations and to one million within two years.”

He added: “The following revenue streams, Personal Income Taxes (PAYE and Direct Assessment), Withholding Tax, Land Use Charges, Consumption Tax, Vehicle Administration, Vehicle Insurance Policy Assurance, Business Premises (Regulations, Management and Control), Lottery Regulations, Stamp duties and other MDA services will be administered by the system.”

Are there up to 5000 persons paying revenues in Edo state?