Thisday reports the Lagos State Government plans to increase its tageted monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from N18 billion to N20 billion. It quoted the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Lagos State, Mr. Ben Akabueze who was delivering a keynote address at a two-day training programme on planning and budgeting for officials of local government areas (LGAs) in the state at the weekend.
As at 1999, the IGR of Lagos state was about N500 million per month, but today, it is N18 billion per month and we are working towards pushing it to N20 billion. Without determination and our desire not to be too dependent on allocations from the federation account, that will not have happened.
If you want to plan your economy, you have to make sure that your IGR is strong to the extent that whatever happens at the federal level, you will be self-sustainable at the local government level.
That is why I am not happy when those at the local government level complain that what they get from the federal and states are poor. We should always develop our IGR. As a result of lack of political will, the local governments are not generating enough revenues as expected.
Lagos State Government has been accused of multiple taxation and high handiness in their revenue drive. Some businesses in the state are already considering relocating amidst high operating cost. It will be interesting to see if they meet this target considering the JTB decision to stop tax collection from Agents.
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