Delta State government has disclosed readiness to enlist the informal sector into the tax net in a bid to boost the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state.
The state Commissioner for Finance, Mr Fidelis Tilije, said the administration is focusing on harnessing the huge potentials in the sector because “our formal sector is very small”.
The Commissioner stated this on Thursday while playing host to members of the Asaba Correspondents Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) who paid him a courtesy visit.
Mr. Tilije said, “We are eager to improve on the IGR of the state. We know that our tax net worth is not what it should be.
“We haven’t even touched the informal sector at all. We are hoping that in the next few months, we will be needing your assistance to help us drive the initiative.
“The informal sector in Delta State is huge because our formal sector is very small. Once you remove the payee public servants, the other one is almost insignificant.”
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The Commissioner, who acknowledged that revenue from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) to the state was improving, however, stated the increment was affected by factors including inflation and upward review of contract figures.
He said, “Governor Sheriff Oborevwori had stated in several fora that all contracts by past administrations will be completed, and we cannot complete until we review contracts, because of the cost component of what they are doing.
“We all know what the cost of diesel is today, and it’s particularly needed for the job they do.”
On the enactment of the Cybercrime Act 2024, Mr Tilije observed that the state government had consolidated various bills into a single form to reduce the burden on residents.
In his remark, the Chairman of Asaba Correspondent’s Chapel, Comrade Ifeanyi Olannye, decried the increasing number of taxes on the citizenry, especially as the country battles inflation and a rise in the cost of goods and services.
Mr. Olannye stressed, “As Watch Dogs, we hold the government accountable and we hereby dare to say that the people are groaning over too many taxes levied by the government.”
