The Chairman, Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (ESIRS), Emmanuel Ekene Nnamani on Monday, announced that the State has been able to solve the issue of multiple taxation through the introduction of a single yearly unified tax payment system using the e-ticketing solution.
Briefing newsmen in Enugu on Monday, Nnamani explained that the system allows business owners in the informal sector to pay their taxes once a year, using an e-ticket platform rather than paying into different revenue-generating ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) in the state.
According to him, Enugu State is known for the e-ticket, a unified tax collection or consolidated tax collection, under which the government has brought all the revenue-generating MDAs, to ensure that once anybody in the informal sector pays through the e-ticket, nobody comes to ask for tax from that person again.
He noted that the e-ticketing system has made Enugu a friendly tax environment whereby people know what they are supposed to pay, pay it and go about their businesses.
“It’s not about paying multiple times because when you pay once through the e-ticket, the payment splits to other agencies too. That’s the type of environment that encourages business to thrive and makes it easier for our people to do business,” he said.
The ESIRS Chairman further said a similar system applies to the formal sector where business owners do not need to pay multiple times to different agencies.
He said the government has employed a ‘Consolidated Demand Notice’ for the formal sector, where people do not need to pay Land Use Charge and ESWAMA bills differently.
Nnamani noted that with one single demand notice that covers all fees supposed to be paid to the state, one can now choose to pay monthly, quarterly, or annually.
“So, in everything we’re doing, we’re cautious because it’s businesses that propel tax generation or collection and grow the economy. If businesses are redundant, tax generation would be redundant,” he said.
He dispelled rumors that tax payment in the State is cumbersome, assuring that the State has one of the most efficient tax payment systems in the country.
He said; “Our tax is easy, and you also have the opportunity to negotiate how you want to pay either once, quarterly, twice or monthly. Even in the informal sector, where they pay N21,000 annually, they have the choice of how they want to pay. We allowed this because our environment is known for business, and as such, we encourage businesses to thrive.”
