Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has said that his administration will not over-burden the people, residents and businesses with taxes and levies.
The governor also said that the most tenable solution that will strengthen the capacity of state governments to continue to deliver public services and development to their citizens will be to maximise tax revenue collection at all levels and across sectors.
Fubara stated this when he declared open the 156th Joint Tax Board Meeting with the theme, ‘Opportunities and Strategies for Improved Taxation of High Net-Worth Individuals in Nigeria,’ in Port Harcourt yesterday.
According to the governor, the burden from a struggling national economy as experienced in Nigeria, which results in high inflation, needs to be minimised.
The governor bemoaned the lack of adequate resources available to state governments to deliver their development commitments to the citizens.
He explained the modest success achieved so far by his administration in the effective collection and utilisation of revenue it has continued to collect from the taxpaying public.
He said: “In Rivers State, our approach is not to impose more taxes on our people but to broaden our tax base without increasing the rates, which has enabled us to generate more internal revenues as evident in the increasing collection figures on a month-by-month basis.
MEANWHILE, the governor has urged the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) to adopt violence-free approaches in their quest to seek equity, justice, and fair share of the distributable resources in the Niger Delta region.
Fubara said while no person can stifle people of the region from speaking out against perceived or real marginalisation, they must not resort to the destruction of valuable national assets.
The governor warned that he will not tolerate or support anything that will either disgrace Rivers State or embarrass the Federal Government from any group of people in the state.
Fubara explained that if the International Oil Companies (IOCs) and the Federal Government are tackled for perpetrating marginalisation and environmental pollution, the people of the region must not exacerbate the situation by vandalising oil pipelines that also impact the environment negatively.
He gave the advice when the President of IYC, Dr Alaye Tari Theophilus, led a delegation of leaders and members of the group on a solidarity walk to the Government House in Port Harcourt yesterday.
The leadership of the IYC also conferred on the governor the prestigious honour of the Grassroots General of Ijaw Nation.
