Obiano Grants 10% Tax Reductions To Anambra Citizens

Raymond Ozoji, Awka

The Anambra State Government has granted 10% tax reductions to tax payers in the state as announced by the State Internal Revenue Service.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the State Internal Revenue Service Dr. David Nzekwu who disclosed this to our correspondent at the Revenue House Awka, said the governor and the government of Anambra state deemed it fit to wave 10% tax increase to enable tax payers to fulfill their tax obligations as the year winds up.

Nzekwu said government also waved interests and penalties for companies, schools and business entities that have outstanding backduty tax liabilities to enable them to meet their tax obligations too.

He said that companies doing business in the state and have not filed in their  PAYE returns were equally encouraged to do so as the year gradually ends.

The AIR boss explained that government took the decision on waving 10% tax increase to assist in making sure that citizens performed their civic responsibilities, adding that the agency had recorded tremendous improvements in the modernisation of tax collections in Anambra state.

Nzekwu, who noted that last year the state closed with about N28 billion, maintained that the state was equally optimistic of realising a similar target by the end of 2021 even as he pointed out that the security situation and the governorship election slowed down revenue drives but maintained that the agency’s enforcement teams were in the field encouraging people to fulfill their tax obligations.

According to him, Anambra state has faced dire challenges in the hands of those he described as revenue lords due to over dependence on agents for revenue collections but disclosed also that hope is in sight for a decent revenue collection system as the State Internal Revenue Service develops new technologies to replace manual collections.