A Non-Governmental Organization, Social and Integral Development Centre, SIDEC, has charged citizens of Anambra State to always insist on judicious utilization of funds accruing from their taxes, by the State Government.
The Executive Director of SIDEC, Ugochi Agalaba-Ehiahuruike, gave the charge at a one-day sensitization program on tax policies and programmes, tax compliance, effectiveness and efficiency of tax collection methods and processes in Anambra State for Anambra Central Senatorial District.
The event organized by SIDEC, in conjunction with the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, enjoys the funding support of the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO).
Ehiahuruike urged the citizens to study the tax laws to understand their obligations and rights and to demand value from the government for every tax they pay.
“Sometimes, people complain about multiple taxes, not knowing that there are taxes and levies to be collected by the Federal, state, and local governments.
“At the state level, you pay Pay as You Earn, PAYE, direct taxation (self-assessment), withholding tax (individuals only), capital gains tax (individuals only), stamp duties on instruments executed by individuals, pool betting and lotteries, gaming and casino taxes, road taxes, business premises registration fees.
“At the local government level, you pay shops and kiosks rates, tenement rates, on and off liquor license fees, slaughter slabs fees, marriage, birth and death registration fees, the naming of the street registration fee, among others.
“But, in all this, citizens should know that they have the right to demand service for the taxes they are paying.
“So, as you go back, encourage our people to pay their taxes. It is only then we can then return to hold government accountable for the utilization of the money,” she posited.
Ehiahuruike identified some problems with the tax system in the country including arbitrary exercise of taxing powers due to the compelling need to grow Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, as well as lack of clarity on taxation powers of each level of government and encroachment on the powers of one level of government by another.
“There is also insufficient information available to taxpayers on tax compliance requirements, creating uncertainty and non-compliance.
Addressing the participants on the benefits of tax compliance, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, (Technical) Mrs Amara Oyeka, warned against filing tax returns outside the time frame permitted by law.
She said, “All eligible citizens must know that tax compliance has timing which is 10th of the proceeding month for those in the formal sector while for instance, those in the informal sector should file their returns by 30th of March this year for the revenue generated in 2023.
“Tax is for the good of all of us. With it, the Government provides public services such as transportation, good roads, qualitative education, quality healthcare system, etc.”
Oyeka also spoke about the penalties for tax evasion.
“When you evade tax for years, any time you are caught, the law says you should be made to pay for all the years you have defaulted. The penalties will be considered on a case-by-case basis,” she noted.
In another presentation on the roles and responsibilities of the Unified Hybrid Enforcement Team, UHBET, the Head, of Monitoring, Anambra Central, Mr Buchi Obioma Okoli, said the team, charged with enforcing compliance to tax law, has assisted in raising the monthly revenue of the government.
Said he; “Before the birth of UHBET, the revenue of Anambra state has never exceeded 1.5 billion naira. But from the birth of UHBET, the state has never made less than 2.5 billion naira monthly”.
“UHBET discharges its responsibility with civility. Educate your members that we are not the ones maltreating citizens everywhere. With UHBET, the era of paying tax without an ASIN number is gone.”
Okoli also spoke on measures put in place to ensure that the personnel did not violate the rights of residents in the discharge of their duties, saying, “Government has stipulated penalties for every offense. We work in accordance with the law. We equally have an in-house policy on disciplining erring personnel.”
The interactive session allowed participants drawn from markets, parks, communities, civil society organizations, and the media to ask questions and seek clarifications on their concerns about the revenue generation approach of the present administration in the area.
At the end of it, a civil society advocate, Eucharia Anekwe, expressed optimism that participants were returning home enriched even as she charged them to scale down the knowledge they had gathered with their respective organizations.
“I was able to differentiate between tax compliance and annual returns and what the NGOs and limited liability companies are supposed to be paying. I can say it boldly that those who attended this event left happily having been armed with relevant information.
“However, for this to translate into more revenue for the state, there is need for more sensitization at the community level. Every participant must step down the knowledge on their various forums,” Anekwe advised.
