Bayelsa State Government has justified the N150 million fee charged on the collection of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the state, saying It conformed with the Personal Income Tax Act (PITA) 2011.
For the month of August 2013 alone, the state government disclosed, it realised N570.34 million as IGR, of which less than N50 million was paid as fee.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Treasury, Accounts and Revenue, Mr. Timipre Seipulou made the disclosure while speaking with newsmen in Yenagoa.
He said the highest amount realised by the immediate past government as IGR was less than N60 million monthly.
He explained that the PITA Act required Governments at all levels to pay not less than 5% as cost of collection to the relevant boards of Internal Revenue.
It was in line with the revenue collection law, said the governor’s aide, that Bayelsa state Government pegged that collection at 6%, exclusive of revenues computed from the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) collections from Government workers and political office holders.
A statement by Mr. Daniel Iworiso- Markson, Chief Press Secretary to the governor, quoted the special adviser as explaining the move as “part of the administration’s commitment to properly manage the scarce resources”.
He disclosed that Baylesa State government ‘successfully achieved a downward review of the cost of collection payable to the platform providers from 4% to 2.5%.
The special adviser stated that before February 2012, when the present administration came into power, “the cost of collection was 10% for the board and 4% for the platform providers, inclusive of all revenue collected from PAYE.”
“It is therefore, heartwarming to note that, the Restoration administration saves over N42 Million on the cost of collection arising from State PAYE plus 5.5% of all revenues collected through the payment platform when compared to the previous administration”, he added.
The special adviser described the clarification as necessary, reminding that it was the right of the people to ask questions, and the duty of a responsible government to provide answers.
“Government has taken the pains to properly inform the people because, it is their right to ask questions and as a responsible Government, we owe you a duty to explain, which is exactly what we have done in this case.
“Government is also using this opportunity to urge ll well meaning Bayelsans to remain steadfast in the ability of this administration to keep to its promises of delivering the dividends of democracy,” he declared.