The Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KW-IRS) as part of its continuous collaboration with Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to boost revenue generation in the state today Wednesday 28th April, 2021 hosted members of the inter-ministerial committee at the Corporate Head Office in Ilorin.
The committee members which was drawn from different Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the state met for the first time today to strategize plans on how to improve revenue collections from their respective offices.
Speaking at strategic session, the Executive Chairman, Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KW-IRS) Shade Omoniyi commended the turnout of members of the committee despite their busy schedules.
She explained that the essence of constituting the inter-ministerial committee is to assemble hardworking members from the MDAs and ensure they all come together with strategies as a team towards an improved IGR of the State.
In her opening remarks, the Head of Service to the Kwara State Government, Mrs Susan Modupe Oluwole, urged members to deploy their wealth of experience and show unwavering commitment to deliver on the task ahead of them.
In her words “There is no good success without collaboration, the civil service and KW-IRS are working for a common goal which is to block revenue leakages and improve collection, it is therefore our duty to ignite our passion for the Service in-order to achieve this great goal for the state”
Speaking on the importance of the committee and its significance to the IGR sustainability of the State, Shade Omoniyi explained that idea of the committee came up as a deliberate attempt to address the continuous dwindling federal allocation. “The objective of this committee is to augment FAAC by increasing the revenue for the development of Kwara State” she added.
Earlier, in his address, Akeem Alabi, Head, Ministries, KW-IRS, who spoke on tapping revenue potentials in the MDAs, identified various areas in which revenue can be generated to meet the objectives of improved collection, he further expatiated on the various challenges experienced at the ministries and ways of solving them using available limited resources.
“The time has come for the State to take what rightfully belongs to it from businesses, we need to review and expand our various sources of revenue such as Licenses, Fees, Fines, Charges, Rates, Rent and Sales; This will go a long way in increasing the Internally Generated Revenue of the State and ensure the continued sustainability of the State in the face of dwindling allocation from the centre” He stated.
Speaking further at the meeting, in respect to the implications of the 2020 Financial on IGR in Kwara State, Sunday Agbana decried the significances of the 2020 Financial Act on the“Pay As You Earn”(PAYE) and the overall collection in the State.
“The Service was generating an average of N127million monthly from low income earners, invariably, people in paid employment who earns N30,000 and below are automatically exempted from payment of tax according to the Act, KW-IRS like other states IRS would bear the brunt of revenue loss in sectors paying national minimum wage to their employees” He explained
The interactive session also provided opportunity for members of the committee to share their various challenges faced within their ministries and solicited support from the Kwara State Government and KW-IRS in particular in the areas of provision of logistics to further bring about efficiency in their various collection processes.
Shade Omoniyi in her closing remarks thanked members present at the meeting and for the shared ideas while expressing her delight that the event came into fruition after series of deliberations. “This is a strategic meeting and I look forward to a continuous beneficial relationship with all the MDAs in State”
However, the inter-ministerial committee membership was drawn from the MDAs in the state with the inclusion of some KW-IRS Management staff and also a few staff of the Service.
Signed Corporate Affairs Department, KW-IRS
28th April, 2021
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