Akwa Ibom State Revenue Service said it would commence full digitalisation of all tax collection processes in the state beginning from the 2025 fiscal year.

Executive chairman of the service, Mr Okon Okon, stated this while briefing newsmen in Uyo, the state capital, on Sunday to highlight a two-day strategic session for the 2025 fiscal year.

He said the board plans to roll out electronic assessment, e-tax clearance process, e-filing of tax returns, and automation of registration and reporting processes.

“This is to significantly improve our operational efficiency and increase the State’s IGR without increasing any tax rate,” Okon said.

While assuring the people that the revenue service would be cautious not to embark on any initiatives that will stifle business growth or create an unnecessary burden on individual taxpayers,

Okon said that the board will upscale its ongoing tax sensitisation and enlightenment campaign to raise awareness of tax payment as a civic responsibility and deepen voluntary compliance in the state

He said Akwa Ibom has been performing creditably well in its revenue profile over the years, adding that the State’s IGR rose from N34.75 billion in 2022 to N43.18 billion in 2023 as indicated in the figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics and Joint Tax Board, the apex body for tax authorities and final authority for reporting tax revenues in Nigeria.

He also disclosed that the state ranked among the top 10 in IGR performance in Nigeria in 2023, coming 4th among the nine States of the Niger Delta in the recently released ranking published by the NBS.

“Our IGR trend shows significant and steady growth, with about 170 percent increase over the past six years, rising from N15.96 billion in 2017 to N43.18 billion in 2023,” Okon said

He attributed the growth to significant governance reforms by the state government, improvement in corporate governance, and operational processes by the board, and the business-enabling environment.