Gov. Alex Otti of Abia has said that his administration has simplified the state’s tax system to enhance ease of compliance and encourage economic growth in the state.
Otti said this on Tuesday during the inauguration of the rehabilitated Obiorah Street, Aba.
He, therefore, urged the people to be “active participants” in the payment of taxes and statutory revenues to the state.
“We have simplified the tax payment system for individuals and businesses using digital technology platforms and systems.What we have achieved with these is that all channels of revenue leakage are closed in order to build confidence in the system,” he said.
Otti expressed government’s determination to ensure that all the taxable entities that were not in the state’s tax net were adequately captured.
“So, our focus going forward will be to address and bring in these entities into the tax net and that is the only way to find the resources we need to achieve our holistic development agenda,” he said.
He also said that the state’s tax system had been structured to ensure that there would be no room for extortion and other forms of abuses in the system.
He said that the government had created a mechanism to ensure that any revenue generated shall be fully accounted for and properly utilised.
Otti said that the application of prudence in the use of public resources had enabled the government to limit its exposure to local and foreign creditors.
“This is the clearest indication that we are running a disciplined government, one that is committed to nothing else but the welfare of the general population.
“The point we are raising is that in this last 18 months, we have focused on delivering the dividend of democracy to our people.We have reduced our debt profile drastically and we have not borrowed a kobo from anybody. This shows that your taxes are working,” he said.
Otti further said that the Obiorah Street project was done through direct labour and commended the state Ministry of Works for doing an excellent job.
In a speech, the Commissioner for Works, Otumchere Oti, described the road as crucial to revitalising the commercial nerve center of the state.
In a remark, the lawmaker representing Aba Central State Constituency, Stephen Ucheonye, commended the government for executing a project that would improve the welfare of the people.
Ucheonye said that the road would play a vital role in improving traffic and boosting commercial activities within the area.
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