South East Receives N23.9bn Tax Arrears from FG

• South East Receives N23.9bn Tax Arrears from FG

The Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mr. Babatunde Fowler on Thursday disclosed that the Federal Government has paid N157.35 billion Pay-As-You-Earn tax liabilities owed by federal ministries, departments and agencies to states.

Fowler, who spoke at the opening of the new National Taxpayer Identification Number Registration System for the South-East region, said out of the N157.35 billion paid by the Federal Government, the region received around N23.87 billion.

He said, “Over the last four years, the economic policies of the current administration have focused on establishing a stable foundation for further socio-economic growth and development.

“With the astute leadership of Mr President, the milestones achieved bear ample testimony to the impact that has been made, not only in tax-revenue administration, but in the environment of doing business in Nigeria.”

The Chairman noted that the service has increased the nation’s taxpayers from 10 million to 20 million with the potential to expand it to 45 million before the year-end.

He added that the Internally Generated Revenue rose by 46.11 percent from N800.02 billion in 2016 to N1.16 trillion in 2018.

Fowler commended the people of Anambra for their entrepreneurial skills and encourage them to keep it up as it would ensure sustainable growth in the state.

“The government needs your continued support by continuous and prompt payment of taxes so that the good work can continue to depend on donor funds and aids. We need to generate our own revenue and the only way we can do that is through prompt payment of our taxes.”