Sanwo-Olu: Aggressive tax drive key to states’ financial autonomy

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Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has called for an aggressive tax drive through tech a driven process as a means of freeing the federating states from over-dependence on federal allocations.

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Sanwo-Olu said Lagos State understood the challenges associated with over-dependence on federal handouts early enough, adding that was what prompted the state to pursue an inclusive revenue generation push to achieve financial autonomy and reduce reliance on oil earnings.

The governor spoke yesterday when he officially flagged off the new National Taxpayers Identification Number (TIN) Registration System and Consolidated National Taxpayers Database in the Southwest.

The new TIN was introduced by the Joint Tax Board (JTB) – a body headed by the Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Babatunde Fowler.

Sanwo-Olu said the sustenance of Lagos’ tax collection drive in the last two decades had helped to insulate the state from the effects of decline in revenue derived from the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), arising from the 2014 crash of global crude oil prices.

He said: “With improved tax revenues, governments of the federating states can begin to wean themselves from an overdependence on crude oil earnings. In Lagos, we very much understood the importance of this early enough.

“The overwhelming success of our tax collection drive over the last 20 years has helped, in no small measure, to insulate Lagos from the worst effects of the decline in FAAC allocations resulting from the 2014 crash of global crude oil prices. Many other states in the federation were not as fortunate.”

To achieve improved revenue generation, the governor said there was need to pursue efficient tax compliance among the citizens, pointing out that an improved tax collection and tax compliance drive would be a win-win policy for the government and the people.

He said: “We know that as the level of tax compliance rises, citizens are more inclined to hold their governments accountable and demand a higher quality of governance and service.

“Citizens everywhere in the world are constantly seeking easier ways of engaging with their governments and fulfilling their civic responsibilities. It is the duty of governments to respond to this need by removing barriers that inhibit compliance.”

On how the government would achieve higher tax compliance, he said: “It is through technology.”

Sanwo-Olu said a tech-driven process remained the vital tool that should be leveraged by the government to actualise the purpose.
Read also: Lagos to provide alternative means of transportation, says Sanwo-Olu

He said: “This new Taxpayer Identification Number Registration System demonstrates the transformative power of technology as a significant contributor to the ease of doing business reforms, both at the national and sub-national levels. More critically, this also aligns with our agenda of leveraging technology to drive change across various economic sectors.”

In his remarks, Fowler said it was instructive Lagos was picked as suitable location for the flag-off of the new TIN Registration System in the Southwest, noting that the first tax transformation effort started in the state in 1999.

The FIRS chief said the Southwest was the largest contributor to the tax generated in 2018 among sub-national zones. This, he said, was as a result of vibrancy in economic activities in the zone.

He said the new TIN Registration System would not only improve the efficiency of tax administration system, but would also reduce the cost and challenges associated with tax collection process.

JTB Executive Secretary, Mr. Oseni Elamah, said the new registration system had addressed the challenges of multiple registrations previously experienced, adding that it had also strengthened transparency in collection process.

After unveiling the new TIN certificate, Fowler presented Sanwo-Olu with his certificate.

Gbenga Samson
Gbenga Samsonhttp://ThisDayLive.com
Samson Gbenga Salau [Editorial Board Adviser] Gbenga Samuel Salau is a professional journalist with over 17 years experience in journalism, he is a graduate of Communication and Language Arts, University of Ibadan. On completion of his youth service, he joined The Guardian as a freelance journalist and was later absorbed as a staff. While in the University, he was a campus journalist reporting for the Independence Hall and Faculty of Arts Press Clubs. As a campus journalist, he won the following awards; Independence Hall Press Best News writer; University of Ibadan Union of Campus Journalists’ Best News Reporter/Writer; First Runner-up, Reuben Abati Award for Investigative Journalism; Association of Faculty of Arts Students’ Press Best Reporter; University of Ibadan Union of Campus Journalists’ Best Political Writer; Winner, Reuben Abati Award for Investigative Journalism, and University of Ibadan Union of Campus Journalists’ Best Interviewer. He served the Association of Communication and Language Arts Students, as the Public Relation Officer, the same year he was appointed the News Editor of the Association of Faculty of Arts Students Press. The following session, he was made the General Editor, and a member of the 13-man University of Ibadan Students’ Union Transition Committee. As a reporter in The Guardian, in 2014, he won the Promasidor Quill Award Best Report on Nutrition and DAME Business Reporting category. In the 2015 edition of the Promasidor Quill Award, he won the best Report on Nutrition and Brand Advocate Categories, while in 2016, he won the NMMA Print Journalist of the Year, first runner-up Golden Pen Reporter of the Year and SERAs CSR Awards. Gbenga Salau loves traveling, reading, and listening to songs with good lyrics no matter the genre.

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