Lagos state Finance Commissioner, Mustapha Akinkunmi, has revealed that the Lagos Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) generated N24.5 billion as the state’s internally generated revenue in January.
He disclosed this at a media briefing ahead off the state’s tax reforms lunch, where he said the amount generated was just 2 percent short of the target for the month, and also a 12 percent rise in comparison with the amount generated in January last year.
He said: “This equated to 56 percent of the state’s total revenue, including Federal Transfers. The total revenue achieved in 2015 was just short of N400 billion and is expected to continue growing, driven by strong tax collection. This administration has been able to make significant investment in security apparatus across the state and has provided street-lighting across the state. We are reducing costs through investment in technology which is a powerful tool for cost reduction through efficient administration,” he said.
According to the Executive Chairman of LIRS, Olufolarin Ogunsanwo, the agency has initiated reforms that would improve the ease of doing business in the state which has helped boost voluntary tax compliance. He also said that people in the informal sector would start to pay tax in order to boost the income, adding that the tax returns Form had been reduced to two pages as against the six pages document hitherto in operation.
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