Chairman of Delta State Internal Revenue Service, Hon. Solomon Ighrakpata, has said that the state will continue to work closely with stakeholders in revenue generation at the federal and local government levels.
Ighrakpata, who made this position known on Tuesday on the sidelines of the 153rd meeting of the Joint Tax Board held in Abuja, said that it was to ensure that multiple taxation was eliminated, as well as improve on the ease of doing business ranking of the state.
The revenue service chairman noted that taxation was a critical driver of the governance process in terms of funding of developmental projects, hence the need to evolve more creative approaches to tax administration in order to achieve optimum revenue receipts.
The theme of the meeting was “Harmonisation and Codification of Taxes at National and Sub-National Levels, the Key to Achieving a Tax-friendly Environment in Nigeria”.
In his welcome address at the meeting, the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service and Chairman of the Joint Tax Board, Mr. Mohammed Nami, expressed the federal government’s commitment to entrenching a tax-friendly environment.
He explained that such would not only end taxation in items such as tomatoes and perishable food items, but also eliminate multiple taxation in order to encourage investments and raise revenue generation.
According to Nami, the importance of taxation had continued to be reiterated and reinforced by all and the critical role that tax revenue played in funding government and governance could not be over-emphasized.
Also speaking, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, emphasized that the tax harmonization process was geared towards reducing corruption, revenue leakages, tax evasion, and raising revenue generation across the country.
