Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, has disclosed that some critical projects in the state are funded solely from the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR).
Gov. Fubara in his address to the 156th meeting of the Joint Tax Board (JTB) holding on Wednesday, December 11, 2024 in Port Harcourt, said major infrastructure such as roads, schools, security and healthcare were being funded through an improved tax system.
He named some of the projects running solely on tax revenue as Elele-Egbeda-Omoku dual carriageway, the zonal hospitals at Degema, Bori, Ahoada and Omoku; the new Rumuigbo General Hospital and the new Psychiatric hospital.
The governor said: “Apart from keeping us above water, we are responsibly using the much-improved tax collections to fund critical infrastructure including roads, schools, security, and healthcare across the State.
Gov. Fubara told the board that a responsible tax system must impose nothing more than a fair amount that served the public interest and attractive to businesses and investors.
He appealed to members of the board to focus on exploring opportunities and strategies for improving the taxation of high net-worth individuals in Nigeria.
“I urge you to come up with policy measures that will encourage the super-rich to pay fair taxes voluntarily while channelling their excess resources into productive economic building investments”, he said.
The governor noted that the purpose of a tax system should not be to stifle society but enable it to develop and prosper by ensuring that wealth creators continued to add value to the system.
Commending the board, he said: “As an institution, the Joint Tax Board has been at the forefront of effective tax administration in Nigeria and your input and efforts at promoting tax harmonization, repeal of obsolete policies, the promotion of cooperation among tax authorities across the country, and provision of training, peer interest to all Nigerians.
“Without adequate revenues, which is of interest to all Nigerians it will be difficult for the government to meet its obligations to provide public services and advance the collective security and prosperity of citizens.
“With a struggling national economy buffeted by high inflation, State Governments are seriously overwhelmed by the lack of adequate resources to deliver their development commitments to the citizens.
He pointed out that, “The solution lies in maximizing the collection of tax revenues by the government at all levels if we must continue to function and provide public services”.
Gov. Fubara said in Rivers State, the government approach was not to impose more taxes on the people but to broaden the tax base without increasing the rates, stressing that it has enabled the government to generate more internal revenues as evident in the increasing collection figures monthly.
According to him: “This is the way to build a stronger broader tax revenue-based economy for our country – one that encourages the production of more wealth, shared economic growth, opportunities, and prosperity for everyone.
“I hope your meeting today will yield fruitful results and recommendations that will be beneficial to the States and the nation in our quest for a more progressive, efficient and equitable tax system”.
In his speech, the representative of the Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), M. R. Abubakar, thanked the governor for the hospitable reception he gave to the board.
On his remarks, the Chairman, Rivers Internal Revenue Board, Chibeso Aholu, observed that for the first time in the history of Rivers, the board chose Port Harcourt to its meeting.
He said: “Giving that the World Bank and IMF have told Nigeria that for us to come out of the woods, we need to look inwards and that inwards has to come from increasing our revenue generation.
“So, it is my belief that in this meeting we shall be having the opportunity to have insight on how to improve our revenue, to have strategies that will come out of this meeting that will improve our revenues generation for the betterment of our state and for the betterment of Nigeria as a nation”.
