Anambra Collaborates With CITN To Boost Tax Revenue

The Chattered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) has pledged to work with Anambra state government to boost the state’s monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) through tax payments.

Currently, the state government generates approximately N3 billion per month in tax revenue, but has expressed a desire to collaborate with CITN to increase monthly generation to at least N4 billion per month through the formalisation of the Informal section.

 Samuel Agbeluyi, President of CITN, spoke at a one-day joint taxpayer education and enlightenment programme organised by Anambra State Internal Revenue in Awka on Tuesday. Service, AIRS, in collaboration with CITN, stated that efforts would be intensified to increase state revenue generation by bringing the informal sector into the tax net.

Agbeluyi, who was represented by CITN Vice President Innocent Ohagwa, explained that the partnership would also help the informal sector, which included motorists, petty traders, freelancers, schools, and others, advance in their chosen careers by providing them with government incentives, loans, free business and professional consultancy services, among other things.

He contended that, with the theme “formalising the informal sector: the economic benefits,” most informal sectors were facing survival challenges due to their location outside the revenue window and bucket.

Agbeluyi described taxation as a statutory obligation imposed on all citizens in order for the government to provide basic amenities to the citizenry, adding that “if you want to reap the benefits of the State government, there is a need for tax compliance because tax will assist the State government to serve the citizenry better.” To accomplish this, the informal sectors must be brought into the tax net because they employ the vast majority of Anambra State’s population due to the State’s numerous markets, transportation, and other facilities. We encourage everyone to formalise their businesses because it has numerous benefits.”

Also speaking, Dr Greg Ezeilo, Chairman and CEO of AiRS, stated that the program’s objectives were to provide meaningful knowledge of taxation and other related matters for the benefit of all citizens.

The Executive Director of Assessment AiRS, Mr. Ben Okafor, stated that the programme aims to improve tax collection by identifying areas for improvement and designing outreach programmes to inform stakeholders in the informal sector about the government’s tax collection efforts.

Nze Akachukwu Nwankpo, the lead paper presenter, urged the Anambra State government to develop a good mechanism that will allow them to reach out to all those in the informal sector and obtain the necessary data for tax collection.

Nwankpo, a former governorship candidate in Anambra state, went on to list the benefits of informal sectors joining the tax net, including increased access to finance, links to value chains, government relief measures, improved performance, lower poverty and inequality, and social and political stability.

Earlier, Anambra State Governor Professor Chukwuma Soludo, represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr Ernest Ezeajughi, described the program’s theme as interesting, noting that its sustenance would help to increase the State’s revenue generation from taxation to about N4 billion per month.