Chairmen of the six area councils in the Federal Capital Territory have been asked to embrace the tax harmonisation project as the initiative does not necessarily translate to conceding their rights to the FCT Administration.
Permanent Secretary of the FCTA, Olusade Adesola, who gave the advice while witnessing the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on revenue harmonisation between the Kuje Area Council and the FCT Internal Revenue Service, FCT-IRS, said the move will further drive revenues into government’s coffers.
The advice is coming in the wake of the fresh resistance from some area councils, over the revenue harmonisation initiative recently introduced in the territory.
Adesola, while pointing that the benefits of the process outweighs the criticism, assured that no dime due to the area councils will be diverted for other use, as the system properly channels all revenues meant for every tier of government.
The permanent secretary, who recounted that the journey of harmonisation started way back in 2012, noted that the initiative could not be implemented due to trust issues and lack of legal framework especially since the FCT-IRS was non-existent then.
He said the birth of FCT-IRS gave impetus to revenue harmonisation, adding that punitive processes associated with the former methods of revenue collection led to loss of revenue as residents and businesses preferred to go to other states to pay their taxes.
“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” he explained.
Earlier, the acting Executive Chairman of FCT-IRS, Haruna Abdullahi, assured that all concerns raised by stakeholders will be considered and addressed accordingly.
According to him, 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 this harmonisation initiative.
“This is not just about Kuje, it is a template and beacon of hope on what can be achieved when organisations come together. And I will also have to say here that all concerns are valid and that is why we are here. We’ll continue to engage major stakeholders and continue to clarify issues that are a bit concerning and clarify according to the law and every stakeholder has a reason to ask questions.
“As we embark on this harmonisation journey I want to assure all residents of the city that every contributed kobo will be accounted for and used judiciously,” he stated.
In his remarks, the chairman of Kuje Area Council, Abdullahi Sabo, affirmed that the council has found the FCT-IRS worthy to handle revenue collection on its behalf.
