Why Niger State’s Internally Generated Revenue is Low – Committee

 By Laleye Dipo

The committee set up by the Niger state government to advise it on how to improve its internally generated revenue has said that the amount accruable to the state from internal sources has been low because internal revenue generation had been handicapped by some factors, which included inappropriate determination of taxable income and narrow tax.

Chairman of the committee and Vice Chancellor of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Professor Mohammed Nasir Maiturare, also said that the low IGR in the state was as a result of “poor information flow and systemic leakages within the State Internal Revenue Service and the tax payers”.

Submitting the report of the committee to Governor Abubakar Sani Bello in his office on Thursday, Maiturari reported that the state had some “untapped user charges” that had the potentials to boost cash flow into the state and advised the administration to explore these opportunities to boost its income.

To arrive at its recommendations, the committee chairman said they visited Lagos, Kano, Kaduna and Edo states to understudy their Internal Revenue Service with a view to improving on the existing modes in the state.