The Abia State Government has dismissed concerns that its new tax administration system amounts to a tax increase, saying the changes are focused on improving how revenue is collected and managed.
The Commissioner for Information, Okey Kanu, gave the explanation on Monday while briefing journalists at the Government House in Umuahia after the State Executive Council meeting chaired by Governor Alex Otti.
Kanu said the government was using automation to make revenue collection easier to monitor, reduce leakages and stop multiple or unauthorised collections.
He said, “Automation is not a tax increase. Transparency is not a tax increase. Closing revenue leakages is not a tax increase.”
According to him, the government’s decision to link revenue collection systems, particularly at vehicle licensing centres, was meant to reduce cash transactions and ensure that payments reach the appropriate government accounts.
He maintained that PAYE, land and vehicle taxes had not been increased, adding that the state revenue board could not independently change approved tax rates.
Kanu also addressed concerns surrounding Tax Clearance Certificates, explaining that taxpayers would be assessed based on their actual income under existing laws rather than being subjected to arbitrary flat payments.
He assured residents that money entering their bank accounts would not automatically be treated as taxable income, noting that the nature of each transaction would be established through proper assessment and verification.
The Special Adviser on Internally Generated Revenue, Dr Emmanuel Okpechi, said the reforms were designed to create a system where both the government and taxpayers could operate with greater transparency.
He said taxpayers must provide accurate income information, while the government would ensure that payments remain within the limits prescribed by law.
On the consolidated demand notice for businesses, Okpechi said the measure was introduced to bring several government charges together and prevent business owners from being approached repeatedly for separate payments.
“Instead of multiple people coming to harass you, you pay at one point and you are cleared,” he said.
He added, “What we are doing is strengthening the system, making transparency work, both for the government and for the taxpayer. Nobody will be taxed a kobo beyond what is lawful.”
The Executive Chairman of the Abia State Board of Internal Revenue, Uche Elekwachi, also rejected claims of increased taxes, saying the board was simply enforcing existing tax laws while improving its collection system.
“There is no increment whatsoever. No increment on PAYE, no increment on lands, no increment on vehicle licences or for the issuance of Tax Clearance Certificates, TCC,” Elekwachi said.
He explained that consolidating the payments would prevent taxpayers from receiving additional demands after settling their required charges.
“What the government has done is to consolidate these payments so that once you pay, nobody comes to you with any other demand notice. What we did was mere integration into the government system,” he said.
Elekwachi further clarified that the board would not regard every bank transaction as taxable income automatically. Instead, taxpayers seeking clearance would be able to explain and provide evidence for the transactions in question.
The governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Ukoha Njoku Ukoha, said the government issued the clarification following criticism of the reforms by opposition figures.
He explained that charges such as stallage and ASEPA fees had been brought together under the new system.
“Whether it is stallage, ASEPA fee or any other, what the government did was to consolidate it, so that once one pays, he has paid everything,” Ukoha said.