From Godwin Okeh, Abakaliki

The chairman of Ebonyi State board of internal Revenue Service (IGR), Christopher Omo-Isu has vowed to boost the revenue generation of the state by greater percentage to enable the governor, Francis Nwifuru execute more projects in the state.

Omo-Isu who decried the activities of fake taskforce agents, who go about extorting petty traders in the various markets in the state, however charged security operatives to clampdown on them to avert further extortion.

He made this known while speaking with newsmen in Abakaliki capital of Ebonyi State.

According to him; “When we were inaugurated, governor Francis Nwifuru, made it clear that there are categories of people that we should not tax in Ebonyi state, you can’t go to market and tax people who are selling vegetables.

“We made it a point of duty, if you are working for this service, don’t go to such people to tax them. We don’t go to markets to ask somebody who is selling tomatoes, vegetables to pay tax. If any person is doing it, such person or people are not from this service, and they are not doing it on behalf of the board.

“We did not engage such people or people and they are not from us, this is because we know our targets. In the issue of tax, you don’t force people to pay, rather you convince people to know that it is their social responsibility to pay tax, and definitely they will come to pay.

“So, all these people collecting taxes from the tomatoes, vegetable sellers and other petty traders are not from us and we can’t encourage them to do such.

“We have set up our taskforce to go to the markets and we are working with the police to get those collecting taxes from peasant farmers and petty traders arrested.

The chairman, Omo-Isu noted further that the board equally launched tax digital automation with the aim to block all revenue generation leakages in the state.

“We are doing everything possible to make sure that our revenue generation is boosted. And what we are trying to do is to make sure that all leakages are stopped. For instance some people will come here, in my office, I will be here, if you come to pay tax somebody may stop you there, and collect higher money from you and will come here to remit small money to us here.

“That’s the leakage, but if you are paying directly through the tax digital automation to the government account, that won’t happen. So we are doing all things possible to stop the leakages, so that, if you pay any tax, it will get to the state government directly” he stated.