The Chairman of Ekiti State Internal Revenue Service, EKIRS, Olaniran Olatona, has described taxpayers in the state as development partners stressing that impactful governance can only be sustained through their collaboration and cooperation.
Olatona stated this on Tuesday in Ado-Ekiti during the interactive S’etigbo multicast, anchored by the Bureau of Community Communications.
He emphasised that EKIRS operates an open-door policy that encourages taxpayers who have concerns about their tax assessments to visit the agency or write formally so that amicable solutions can be reached through dialogue.
According to him, “we are doing well by and large and our revenue is improving day by day. There are some misinformation that people believe that most of the revenue is coming from the masses and the poor.
“We tried to make it clear to people that the percentage of income that comes from the masses is just like 1% because we have our way of monitoring our statistics to know where 80% of our revenue is coming from.
“It is important that everybody contributes to the government because these funds are used for public assets. For those that don’t contribute, it doesn’t take them anything to destroy it.
“I am part of the people that believes that someone should contribute no matter how small as long as you have the capacity and ability to do it.
“Whatever the government is doing for our comfort, safety, security, health, education is still the money that the tax man generates that are used for much of these activities. We want people to see us as partners in progress. Do your part and then you see that the tax man is your friend.”
The EKIRS boss commended Governor Biodun Oyebanji for granting the agency the operational independence needed to carry out its responsibilities effectively noting that the administration has removed several obstacles that previously hindered revenue generation, leading to improved tax compliance across the state.
Olatona stated that the state’s internally generated revenue has witnessed remarkable growth through strategic reforms, stakeholder engagement, and one-on-one interactions with taxpayers.
