Ogun Assembly tasks revenue agency on improved database

He Ogun State House of Assembly has charged the State Internal Revenue Service (OGIRS), to upgrade its database to effectively track prospective taxpayers in the State, particularly the informal sector of the economy with a view to generating more revenue to the coffers of government.

A member representing Ijebu North II State Constituency, Dare Kadiri, gave this charge while reacting to issues when OGIRS management team took its turn to defend the 2017 Budget proposal before members of the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Olakunle Oluomo at the Assembly Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

Kadiri said the data upgrading became imperative in order to bring all prospective taxpayers in the State into the tax net so as to expand the revenue base of the State for prompt delivery of developmental programmes of the government.

Other lawmakers, who spoke in favour of the move, charged the revenue agency to device more strategies to capture others who were yet to be covered towards achieving voluntary tax compliance to enhance the agency’s quest for improved revenue generation.

In his response, the Chairman of the Board, Adekunle Adeosun, said the agency was committed to promoting best tax practices in a tax friendly environment upon which the agency intends to improve tax revenue of the State by additional 47.18 per cent in 2017.

Adeosun, who disclosed that the OGIRS generated a total of N21.6 billion in the outgoing year, also explained that the agency had embarked on enlightenment and sensitisation programmes as well as data capturing of taxpayers with effective monitoring.

While giving the breakdown of the 2017 budget estimate, Adeosun submitted that the agency proposed a total revenue target of N41 billion with a total expenditure of N2.8 billion, out of which capital projects would gulp N400 million while N2.41 billion would be earmarked for personnel and overhead cost.

In another development, the State Commissioner for Finance, Wale Oshinowo, has assured that the Ministry would broaden the economic base of the State through the creation of a business-friendly environment as well as engendering people-oriented approach to governance in 2017.

Oshinowo, who also defended the budget of the Office of the Accountant General of the State, at the 2017 budget defence at the House, said all efforts would be geared towards formulating financial policies and regulations that would ensure sound management of the State’s finance next year.

The Commissioner stated that in the 2017 fiscal year, the Ministry proposed the sum of N4.1 billion as total expenditure out of which N150 million would be for capital expenditure, while N3.9 billion would go for recurrent expenditure which covers personnel and overhead costs, just as N25 million was the proposed revenue for the period.

Oshinowo while reviewing the budget performance of the Ministry in the outgoing year, said the sum of N20million was generated as revenue as at October this year as against N10.5million budgeted which showed 192percent increase