Olusade: Harmonization Will Address Multiple Taxation in FCT

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

The FCTA Permanent Secretary, Adesola Olusade has said the ongoing harmonisation initiative will address issues related to multiple taxation and foster a business-friendly environment in the FCT.

He stated this during the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on revenue harmonisation between the Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) and Kuje Area Council.

“Today, I am fulfilled. The journey towards harmonisation and ease of doing business started as way back as 2012. Efforts to conclude it had been very challenging because of lack of mutual trust and inadequate team work for the implementation.

“In 2012, we didn’t have FCT-IRS and the Service came to be as a creation of the law in 2015 and had to grapple with teething problems before it became eventually operational in 2018. 

“Therefore, harmonizing revenue collection is not amounting to concession, the task before FCT-IRS is to collect the revenue on behalf of other revenue agencies and area councils and remit it to them in accountable and transparent manner,” Olusade said.

In his remarks, the Executive Chairman of FCT-IRS, Mr. Haruna Abdullahi, reaffirmed that the ongoing harmonisation drive in the FCT would last for a considerable time, while also assuring all stakeholders that all concerns raised would be considered and addressed accordingly.

He said the signed MoU between FCT-IRS and Kuje Area Council will provide stakeholders with a clear framework outlining their respective roles and shared responsibilities in the harmonisation initiative.

He assured FCT residents that every contributed penny would be properly accounted for and used judiciously.

In his remarks, the Chairman of Kuje Area Council Mr. Abdullahi Sabo, affirmed Kuje Area Council’s confidence in the capacity of the FCT-IRS to handle revenue collection on their behalf. 

He emphasised that the area council had tasked the FCT-IRS with improving and standardizing their existing data, therefore all levy and revenue collections in Kuje area council would transit to an automated, cashless system.