Management of the Edo State Internal Revenue Service (EIRS), on Thursday, said that there is no iota of truth about the claim in some quarters that there is a drop in the state internally generated revenue.
The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the state’s Revenue Service, Mr. Courage Eboigbe, who stated this through a press statement said that the EIRS under its current management is poised to improve the revenue base of the state through a task friendly administration.
The press statement said that the Management of EIRS will continue to take advantage of opportunities to grow the State IGR, adding that management is also on the lookout for possible threats, or factors that may mitigate against a seamless revenue administration process.
According to the press statement issued “Recently, the management of Edo State Internal Revenue Service EIRS, has been taken aback by the claims and rumored reports that there is a drop in the State’s Internally Generated Revenue.
“Our response to this rumour is premised on the need to correct the false narrative peddled around by some individuals, as well as set the record straight solely as it relates to IGR.
“This false claim ordinarily would have been overlooked for obvious reasons as it lacked credibility in its entirety and the source cannot be relied upon.
“But for the numerous calls received and the fact that the Revenue Service owes stakeholders, particularly taxpayers the duty of care to account for collected revenue, a responsibility the EIRS has and will continue to execute on a quarterly and annual basis.
“This press briefing therefore, is to set the records straight, dispel the doomsday false prophecy or narrative and assure Edo taxpayers of a healthy tax system.
“The EIRS through its several key responsibilities chiefly amongst administer revenue in the State through the process of tax assessment, collection and reporting under various tax types such as Income Tax (Direct Assessment, Pay-As-You-Earn, Withholding), Gaming, Motor Vehicle Administration, Stamp Duties, Gaming/Lotto and MDAs Collections.
“It has and will continue to be a veritable supporter and enabler of policies and programmes of governments inclusive of the current one. It therefore means that it has a great responsibility to discharge as far as development is concerned.
“In the light of the above and having identified the various taxes currently being administered, the Revenue Service, is forced to state that the basis for the dooms day prediction for the state IGR having a free fall from 8bn to N2bn, lacks simple and sensible financial or revenue analysis and projections. There is absolutely no correlation.
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“It is important to state that currently, the State’s IGR average collection is N7.2bn monthly as against the N8bn falsely rumored about.
“The IGR collection for the months of October and November 2024 stands at N5.8bn and N6.6bn, respectively. This currently being sustained and growing.
“The Management of EIRS will always take advantage of opportunities to grow the State IGR. It is also on the lookout for possible threat, or factors that may mitigate against a seamless revenue administration process.
“Finally, the EIRS assures Edo State Government, the general public, stakeholders and taxpayers particularly, that the current state of Internally Generated Revenue of the State is healthy and currently maintains a steady growth rise”, the press statement disclosed.
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