Abia State Governor,Dr. Alex Otti has called on stakeholders in the revenue generation sector to embrace and comply with the new Digital Tax Payment Process introduced by the state Government.
The call is coming on the heels of the recent launch of the new digital tax payment system by the Governor which seeks to among other things eliminate fraud, intermediaries and sanitize revenue generation in the transport sector and various markets across the state.
Governor Otti at the recent launch of the digital Tax Payment System
Governor Otti made the call, Wednesday, during a Town Hall Meeting with stakeholders in the transport sector and traders at Government House, Umuahia.
The Governor regretted that the process of tax collection in the past illegally empowered some individuals who he said had milked the state dry, and noted that the digitalized IGR tax payment system would not only eliminate fraudulent practices but also increase the revenue base of the state.
He said: “The whole essence of the tax regime is to eliminate all forms of sharp practices including fraud, diversion of proceeds, and eliminate middle men. The new tax system will eliminate bottlenecks and ensure efficient tax collection and administrative process. We believe it will increase the revenue base of the state, it will also help in the ease of doing business index.
“With the new tax system, you can pay from the comfort of your home and get digital receipts from your mobile device.This system is carefully designed and developed to empower our people and it will lead to employment generation and also give confidence to our people that their payments are getting to the right place.
“Our focus is on enhancing transparency and accountability in our revenue collection process”.
Governor Otti who used the forum to announce that the state government would commence the adoption of a Treasury Single Account (TSA) where all revenue of the State would be domiciled in one account by 1st September, 2023,pointed out that the digital tax payment process would equally empower the state government to deliver on key areas such as security, healthcare, infrastructure among others.
“We have started a process of adopting a TSA and I’ve given a deadline of September 1, so by Sept 1, every government funds must go through a Treasury single account”
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Governor on IGR, Mr. Chimereze Okigbo said the essence of the town hall meeting was to have useful interactions with the necessary stakeholders given the formal launch of the new digital tax regime and assured that government would profile agents and place them in various locations to assist in the system to make it seamless.
In their reactions, some transporters and traders, including Prince Ndubueze, Cyril Ozor, Ezekiel Nwadibia and Mrs. Chinyere Foster said a lot needs to be done by government in sensitizing Transporters as well as traders to embrace the digital tax payment system and appealed to the governor to fix internal roads within the various markets.
