.Says 200,000 residents to enjoy newly-inaugurated roads in Victoria Island
Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Monday said his administration would be leveraging on his predecessor in office, Mr Babatunde Fashola’s strategy to address the challenges of multiple tax collection and use of tout agents for collection of levies at the local government level.
The enacted Local Government Levies (Approved List for Collection) Law, 2010, was prescribed to provide uniformity in collections at the Local Government level across the State.
Delivering his keynote address at the opening ceremony of149th edition of the Joint Tax Board, JTB meeting at Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos, Sanwo-Olu also commended the vision of the national leader of All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu for the transformation of internal revenue process in the State.
The event was attended by the representative of Federal Inland Revenue, FIRS chairman, Mr Muhammed Mamman and all the chairmen of the 36 state tax boards and FCT.
Sanwo-Olu who was represented by the State Commissioner for Finance, Dr Rabiu Olowo said, “Let me also acknowledge the significant reforms that the JTB has implemented or spearheaded, especially in recent years. For example, the introduction of the new Tax Identification Number system and creation of a centralized national tax database for the country, as well as the JTB’s role in the drafting of the new National Tax Policy, and the subsequent work of the National Tax Policy Implementation Committee (NTPIC).
“On our part, the commitment of the Lagos State Government to the Joint Tax Board has never been in doubt. It is on record that Lagos State sponsored the first ever National Tax Retreat organized by the JTB in August 2005, with the theme ‘Tax Reform in a Democracy’. We will continue to live up to our responsibilities and support the JTB in the fulfillment of its national mandate.
“Lagos is by far the largest contributor to national non-oil revenues, by way of corporate income taxes, VAT (almost half of vatable transactions take place in Lagos State), customs duties, port charges, and so on. This is to be expected from the sub-national entity that is the most populous in the country and is also the biggest commercial hub.
“However, in the subsequent re-distribution of resources, we do not see any reflection of the contribution of Lagos State. Our share in this redistribution fails to take into account the demographic and infrastructural burdens and pressures that accompany being the economic nerve-center of the nation.
“This state of affairs is what compelled the State, under the visionary leadership of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to commence a transformational reform of its internal revenue process, within the ambit of the law. The result is that since 1999 the Lagos Inland Revenue Service (LIRS) has undergone the most extensive tax administration reforms of any sub-national government in Nigeria.
I am pleased to let you know that Lagos State has grown its IGR from N600 million monthly in 1999 to over N45 billion monthly as of today, an astounding increase of 7,400 percent. How did we achieve this?
“It all began with ensuring the foundational autonomy of the LIRS, which the Lagos State Revenue Administration Law, 2006 helped achieve. Again, special kudos must go to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his foresight and determination to make Lagos an outlier in the area of tax collection and administration in Nigeria.
“Automation and digitization of tax administration are also critical pillars of our reforms, which successive administrations have taken very seriously. Today, in Lagos State, from the comfort of the taxpayer’s home, he/she can file his/her income tax returns, get an assessment by a prompt or notification sent to his/her e-mail, make tax payments using payment channels on the platform and print his/her tax payment receipt. All of this in real-time, easily and seamlessly.
“Another area of focus for us in Lagos State has been continuous engagements with stakeholders, especially in the informal sector of the economy.
“This focused engagement has most recently led to the establishment of the IBILE Hub, which is an end-to-end application designed specifically for professional associations, artisans, market associations and the entire players in the informal sector to ease compliance obligations, introduce tax part-payment and encourage tax inclusiveness. It is indeed a demonstration of the importance of public engagement and the collection of useful feedback from stakeholders.
“Still on public engagement, we have been very mindful of the complaints about arbitrary imposition of levies, multiple taxation, and the use of touts as agents for collection and enforcement at the Local Government Level. To combat this issue, the administration of my predecessor, His Excellency Babatunde Fashola enacted the Local Government Levies (Approved List for Collection) Law, 2010, which prescribed uniformity in collections at the Local Government level across the State. We are now building on that foundation.
“To complement that effort, my administration inaugurated, on February 5, 2021, the Joint State Revenue Committee (JSRC), a statutory body created pursuant to the Personal Income Tax Act (PITA) 2004 as amended, to actualize the harmonization of taxes and levies at both State and Local Government levels.
“The Committee is charged with the objective of achieving a synergy in the tax administrative system across all local Governments within the State, as well as carry out continuous enlightenment and sensitization of the tax-paying public on their constitutional obligations to file income tax returns and pay taxes or levies due on such incomes accordingly to the appropriate authority.
“With the above in place, it is our hope that the issue of multiple taxation or levies complained of by the organized private sector and other stakeholders would become a thing of the past.”
In an interview with newsmen shortly after the opening session, chairman Lagos State Internal Revenue Service, LIRS, Mr Ayodele- Subair said, “the cornerstone of any development is payment of taxes. It is the strongest sustainable means of generating revenue.”
He therefore urged Lagos residents to always endeavour to pay their taxes, saying paying tqx is not just a civic responsibility but also associated with laws.
He added, that Lagos was able to weather the storm despite the impacts of coronavirus pandemic, noting “We are able to go beyond our target by achieving 102 percent.”
In another development, the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Monday commissioned three network of reconstructed roads in Victoria Island which are expected to serve over 200,000 people daily.
The three roads are Adeola Hopewell and Afribank/ Churchgate Streets are one-way traffic roads while Idowu Taylor is a two-way street.
Sanwo-Olu said this in his speech at the commissioning ceremony attended by royal fathers of the area, stakeholders among others.
The Governor said, “At the inception of our administration in 2019, we promised to address the challenges of gross infrastructural degeneration and the perennial flooding issues that the people of the Lagos Central senatorial district have had to contend with.
“Today’s commissioning is therefore, a promise fulfilled and clearly demonstrates our audacious reforms in critical sectors of our economy, in line with our T.H.E.M.E.S Development Agenda.
“A major focus of our Greater Lagos Vision is the prioritization of urban renewal and the development of road infrastructure as a means of enhancing the collective wellbeing of Lagosians. We have adopted an all-inclusive and people-centered approach that covers rural and urban areas, so that no part of Lagos State is left out.
“Victoria Island used to be one of the cleanest and most orderly neighborhoods in Lagos State. However, the continuous growth of the area’s commercial activity, and by extension, its population, has led to various environmental and infrastructural challenges, among which are flooding and its attendant effects.
“The failure of many of the drainages and water channels on Victoria Island has consistently impeded the free flow of traffic, extending commuting time, causing damage to vehicles, low patronage for businesses, and generally poorer quality of life for the people who work and live here.
“As a responsive Government committed to the fulfillment of all electoral promises, we knew we had to do everything necessary to address and reverse this issue of incessant flooding and all its consequences in the area.
“In February 2020, therefore, our administration awarded the contract for the reconstruction and upgrade of Adeola Hopewell, Idowu Taylor, and Afribank/Churchgate streets. We took cognizance of the need to provide an effective drainage system and improved drainage network, as well as the need to provide good connectivity with other roads in the vicinity.
“Today, those contracts have been successfully completed, and we are here to formally commission a network of reconstructed roads, which serve over 200,000 people daily.
“The completion of these roads validates our promise to improve the quality of life of Lagosians, promote massive socio-economic growth, and reciprocate the support we have enjoyed from this constituency in the last few years.
“I am confident that these newly completed roads will significantly reduce travel time, improve inter-connectivity with other roads within the vicinity and further boost business and investment opportunities in this area. The improved drainage system will also help to end the perennial flooding and erosion problems experienced in this area. The positive effects of this infrastructural upgrade will no doubt be felt well beyond Victoria Island.
“As always, I seek your continued support to ensure that these roads, upgraded with our commonwealth, are judiciously used and maintained. I urge you to refrain from any act that may compromise the integrity of these roads and undermine their durability, and to not hesitate to report to the authorities anyone found committing such acts.”
In her welcome address, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Works, Engr Aramide Adeyoye said, “It is also pertinent to mention that a high standard of quality control and quality assurance has been maintained in the course of the construction of these roads and the roads will no doubt serve their purposes throughout the design life.
“The roads provides access to a lot of corporate offices and interconnects seamlessly with other roads in the area; Some of the other benefits derivable from the completion of the rehabilitation and upgrade of these roads are reduction in maintenance cost of vehicles of the motoring public as well as enhanced property value and socio – economic activities within the area.
“This road is another legacy of the present administration in the development of road infrastructure through the judicious and prudent use of tax payers’ money.
“I, therefore, appeal to all and sundry to reciprocate Government’s gesture by safeguarding and ensuring proper usage and protection of the infrastructure to ensure long-lasting service.”
