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Lagos Government generates N120bn from tax in six months

By BusinessNews Staff on August 2, 2014

The Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) yesterday said it generated more than N120 billion from taxation between January and June this year.

This came as the Ogun State Government has equally disclosed that its monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) has increased to N5 billion from N3.2 billion

The Executive Chairman of the service, Mr. Tunde Fowler, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that 90 per cent of the taxes were generated from the organised private sector and civil servants.

Fowler said the remaining 10 per cent came from the informal sector, mostly market women, artisans, commercial drivers and taxable individuals in the state.

He said the state had relied on the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to implement its budget following the dwindling statutory allocations.

The chairman said the increase in the IGR to N237 billion in 2013 from N15 billion in 1999 were the fallouts of sustained mobilisation and tax education in the state.

“In 1999, Lagos State generated N15 billion from IGR but last year, it increased to N237 billion, an increase of N222 billion within 14 year
“There has been a steady growth in tax payment in the state,” he said.
He projected that this year’s IGR would improve beyond the previous years.

Fowler also said any development required money, adding that the IGR would further bridge the statutory allocation from the federal government.

“Any transformation will require money and you can’t transform without funding.

“Now that the allocation from the federal government is reducing due to drop in oil revenue, we must look elsewhere to meet up with our budget,” he said.

He said the generated revenue would be used to ensure the state had good roads, improve health services and adequate security.
Fowler assured the residents of the state that 200 roads in the state would be repaired before the 2015 tenure expiration of the administration.

The chairman urged the residents to endeavour to pay their taxes regularly, adding that the money was being used to implement the state’s budget.

Meanwhile, the Ogun State Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Mrs. Oluwande Muoyo, while speaking on the mid-year performance of the state’s 2014 budget in Abeokuta yesterday, said the overall budget performance as at March 31 this year was 61.87 per cent, adding that it had increased to 67.17 per cent as at June 30.

She noted that their performance had direct impact on the daily lives of the people of the state through road projects, new schools, renovated schools, health facilities, mass transit buses and taxis, among others.

She said in the process of meeting the expectations of the masses in terms of dividends of democracy, the state had witnessed the construction of 500 housing units at Oke Mosan as well as the first phase of OPIC’s new premium housing estate.

Muoyo added that in the area of infrastructural development, the two flyovers at Itoku and Sapon are 97 per cent completed, saying work had commenced on Iyana Mortuary flyover.

She disclosed that the flyovers at the Lagos Garage and Mobalufon junction, at Ijebu Ode had been completed and inaugurated.
Muoyo said the state government had awarded the contract for the construction of Papalanto/ Ilaro road while rehabilitation works on Ota, Ilaro, Sagamu and Abeokuta township roads are ongoing.

According to her, the state government had continued to discharge its obligations to the public servants, salaries and pension obligations are being paid while deserving officers also enjoy their promotions as provided in the regulations.
In the area of security, she said the state government had continued to work with security agencies in order to sustain peace in the state.

[This Day]

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