The Chairman of Ondo State Internal Revenue Service (ODIRS), Mr. Tolu Adegbite, has described taxation as a key fiscal instrument needed for stimulating sustainable development of Nigeria and other countries globally.
Adegbite, who made this remark in his lecture titled ‘Tax, The Future and You’, at a programme organized by Elizade University Tax Club (EUTC), on Friday in Akure, maintained that internally generated revenue was required in any economy to enable the government to deliver dividends of democracy, like provision of basic needs and infrastructural development, to the governed.
The tax administrator said: “Taxation is important if any government is to get enough funds for delivery of dividends of democracy, like provision of basic needs and infrastructural development. There is no doubt that an efficient tax system enhances revenue generating potential.”
The ODIRS boss, who was represented at the event by Director, Personal Income Tax at ODIRS, Mr. Segun Enikuomehin, further said that well-articulated tax restructuring, engagement of young and vibrant tax graduates and the use of technology cannot be over-emphasized in national development agenda
Adegbite said: “If we have to change the present narrative, we need a tax policy mix and design. In Ondo State, this ugly picture was about rearing its ugly head in 2017 when our total tax collection was hovering around N10 billion annually.
“In 2018, the present administration took the bull by the horn and the narrative changed with the introduction of various measures as earlier highlighted. The resultant effect was a boost in the collection of revenue in ODIRS. Today, the collection has moved from N10 billion in 2017 to over N30 billion in 2021.
“Taxing right, tax types, number of taxes, rate of taxes and base of taxes will go a long way in shaping the success or failure of the economic development of Nigeria”, he added.
Delivering a paper titled ‘The role of Taxation in Resolving the Nigerian Economic Crisis’ at the event, the Special Adviser to Ondo State Governor on Education, Dr. (Mrs.) Wunmi Egbayelo, said Nigeria remained a consumer nation, rather than being a producing one, adding this other factors have been responsible for the lingering economic crisis in the country.
The governor’s aide stressed that taxation remained one of the fiscal means for Nigeria to overcome most of her sundry economic crises and urged all tiers of government in the country to promote IGR in order to improve governance and socio-economic well being of Nigerians, especially the poor.
In her remarks, the Founder and Coordinator of the EUTC, Mrs. Anthonia Oloko, said that the club had been engaging stakeholders within and outside the university community to create awareness about the benefits of tax compliance to taxpayers and the country.
