Taxation pushes A’Ibom’s IGR to all-time high of N24.8bn

Akwa Ibom state has moved from 16th position on the internally generated revenue (IGR) rating to number six (6), going by the latest rating released by the joint tax board (JTB).

The state’s IGR reached an all-time high of N24.8 billion within eight months, January to August 2019.

This amount represents 57.05 percent of the projected IGR (N43.6billion) for the 2019 business year.

Udom Emmanuel, the governor, gave the figure while presenting highlights of the 2020 budget to the Akwa Ibom state house of assembly.

“As at August 2019, the actual recurrent revenue collected was N190.66 billion… a breakdown of this shows that Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) was N24.875 billion,” he said.

The IGR for 2019 is more than the revenue the state realised in 2016 and 2017 and N5.7 billion higher than the N19.04 billion generated between January and September 2018.

The state generated N11.3 billion between January and September 2016 and N10.4 billion within the same period in 2017.

The Akwa Ibom State Internal Revenue Service (AKIRS) has aggressively pursued tax recovery from organisations that evaded taxes in the last 10 ten years.

There has been major reforms in tax administration in the state since the Udom Emmanuel administration came on board in 2015.

Some of the reforms include, the signing of the Akwa Ibom state revenue administration bill 2016 which granted autonomy to the AKIRS, automation of tax collection process, and approval of 2.5 percent incentive to all revenue generating agencies of the state.

Leo Umana, executive director, Tax Recovery and Enforcement, said strategic reforms introduced by the AKIRS have improved tax administration in the state and this account for the significant improvement in the IGR.

“The successes we have been so far is because all of us have worked together as a family. And, of course we must give credit to Governor Udom Emmanuel for signing the Akwa Ibom State Internal Revenue Service Administration Law that grants autonomy to the board. That has been the beginning of the turning point,” he said.

Akwa Ibom state was trudging towards the lower rung on the tax table before 2015 due to leakages, corruption and lack of commitment by the state government’s revenue officers.