Tax evasion, revenue leakage worry Plateau

From Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Jos

The executive Chairman of Plateau State Internal Revenue Service, Mr Arlat Dashe has expressed worries over what he described as a poor attitude to tax payment and tax collection in the state.

Dashe who disclosed this in his end-of-year review held in his office on Monday, said the majority of citizens of Plateau State don’t pay tax, just as huge state revenue leaks through the ministries, agencies and parastatals.

According to Dashe, whilst the revenue service has been able to meet the target of N20 billion for the outgoing year 2021 as contained in the state appropriation bill, the agency is still far from reaching the full revenue potentials.

The chairman expressed regret that within the last three years, the MDAs in the state have not exceeded a revenue collection of N2 billion a year, adding that each of the agencies can generate far more than what is currently generated.

Dashe also expressed worries over hospitals, hotels, schools and shops located in the state which keep evading tax payment.

He promised that more strategies will be adopted to ensure that the state reaches its full revenue potentials in 2022, adding that the state can survive on its internal revenue without depending on monthly revenue allocation from the federation account.