Dele Moses, Ilorin
Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KW-IRS) has come up with a strategy to check illegal negotiations between taxpayers and revenue officers in the state.
This the Service did with the introduction of what it called Harmonized Bill which it described as tool for collection of all revenue due for payment from all taxpayers acrooss the state.
The KW-IRS said the bill would also aid blocking of leakages affecting collection of taxes and provide education on multiple taxes.
The Executive Chairman of the KW-IRS, Shade Omoniyi, in a statement, said Harmonized Bill was one of the automation strategies of the Service to improve on its collection activities, explaining that it would bring all eligible entities or businesses into the Tax net and enhance collections in the State.
Amoniyi, in the statement, listed what the harmonized bill is meant to achieve as follows: 1.Compute, consolidate and communicate all payable tax revenue and non-tax revenue as applicable to each eligible taxpayer in the State, within any assessment year.
2.Stop illegal negotiation between taxpayers and revenue officers in the Ministries or KW-IRS, as well as avoid diversion of government’s money into personal pockets.
3. Block most of the leakages through the display of all taxes due for payment by a taxpayer and provide education on double and multiple taxations. A single entity could be charged to different revenue lines depending on the nature of the business.
4. Indicate the level of tax compliance by showing both the current and outstanding liabilities of each taxpayer in a single document.
The KW-IRS boss clarified that the Service had not reviewed revenue fee or introduced new taxes to taxpayers since the current administration took over saying all revenue lines currently being collected had been in existence.
She explained that what the Service had done was the introduction of an approach to ensuring required and legitimate tax due is paid by taxpayers and collected appropriately into the coffers of the state.
She stated: “We have advised MDAs to allow taxpayers with arrears, access government benefits when they pay their dues for the current year, while they come up with plans for the payment of their outstanding liabilities.
“All revenue lines of the MDAs in Kwara State on the harmonized bill are the same as approved and as provided by existing relevant laws.
“This revenue drive in the State, with the introduction of the harmonized bill, will improve the tax compliance in the State and bring about an enhanced revenue generation which is veritable support for the Federal allocation in ensuring the government meets its responsibilities and desires of Kwarans.
“The Kwara State Internal Revenue Service will continue to collaborate with all MDAs and Stakeholders in the State for effective and efficient collection of all that is legally due from taxpayers and enjoins all taxpayers to seek clarifications from appropriate sources when in doubt.”
Ends
