By Ebute Mathew, Kaduna
Governor Uba Sani’s policy of financial inclusion and widening the tax net as well as reorganizing the entire Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service (KADIRS), has resulted in increased internal revenue generation in Kaduna State.
The Executive Chairman of KADIRS, Mr Jerry Adams, who was speaking to newsmen over the weekend, said that it is not surprising that Kaduna State was ranked as the sub national with the highest revenue generation in 2023 by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Last week, NBS released the Internally Generated Revenue(IGR) of all in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), showing that Kaduna State raked in N62.49 billion last year, emerging as the state with the highest IGR earnings in the north.
Speaking to newsmen, the Executive Chairman of KADIRS said that the credit goes to Governor Uba Sani for automating tax administration in Kaduna State and providing work tools to drive the process.
According to him, KADIRS now has a One-Stop-Tax portal called ‘’Pay Kaduna Portal’’, which enables citizens to pay their taxes from anywhere, without physically coming to the tax agency’s offices.
‘’This automation has reduced leakages in the system. By just clicking on the particular tax icon, a taxpayer can pay Withholding Tax, Stamp Duty Tax and so on,’’ Mr Adams said.
The Executive Chairman also pointed out that the Governor Uba Sani administration has widened the tax net without increasing tax in Kaduna State.
Mr Adams disclosed that KADIRS has been expanding the tax net in a horizontal manner since July last year, as against the vertical approach of the past which led to stagnation.
The Executive Chairman also maintained that the overall policies of Kaduna State Government helped significantly in improving its IGR.