Kwara State Government has said it raked in N6.2 billion as its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the last quarter of 2020.
This is despite the imbalances created by the COVID-19 pandemic, Executive Chairman of Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS) Mrs. Shade Omoniyi has said.
Giving a breakdown of the collections on a monthly basis, Omoniyi said KWIRS generated N2.8 billion, N1.3 billion and N2.3 billion in October, November and December last year.
She added that the service had a remarkable first quarter in the year under review before the COVID-19 pandemic took effect on the economy.
Said she: “Due to lack of physical contacts with some taxpayers for collections as well as the lockdown, there was a huge dip in revenue generated in Q2 2020, which extended into Q3 2020. By the last quarter of 2020, there was a substantial recovery from the crippling effect of the pandemic on businesses and IGR.
“For the entire 2020, KW-IRS recorded N19.6 billion revenue, which was 75.48 per cent of the N25, 997,573,296.00 revised annual budget.
“The year 2020 was marked with quick implementation of measures to cushion the effects of the pandemic on taxpayers, which included the donation of palliatives, extension of the deadline for filing annual returns from March 31 to September 30, 2020, 30 per cent waiver on arrears on ground rent and land charge for property owners and land occupiers, granting of moratorium to informal sector taxpayers, suspension of enforcement activities, waiver of penalty and interest for High Net Worth Individuals (HNIs) and corporate organisations and over 30 community impact programmes (CIPs).
“The service also accelerated the implementation of its automated systems to reduce the amount of contact required with tax payers for optimal revenue generation.
“As evidenced in the recent achievement of $16.9m in SFTAS Annual Performance Assessment (APA) for 2019/2020 by Kwara, KW-IRS has ensured accountability and transparency in our internal processes and reporting. The Service has also improved significantly in our sequential and systematic reporting through the social, print and electronic media platforms. The activities of KW-IRS in 2020 as well as the remarkable performance recorded irrespective of the snags caused by months of lockdown are pointers to our commitment to the welfare of taxpayers and improving the revenue drive of the state.
However, we are still experiencing a huge incidence of low tax compliance in the state.
“The service will be implementing a year round sensitisation and enforcement sessions with a view to reducing the incidence of tax evasion and under remittances.
“The year 2021 will also herald continuous automation of relevant revenue lines, which will change the mode of collection in several touch points across the state.
“The Service is appealing to tax payers to join it in improving IGR to help the administration in fulfilling its obligations to the populace.”
