The Chairman of the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue Service (DBIR), Hon. (Chief) Solomon Ighrakpata, has urged journalists to support the revenue agency in sensitizing the public on tax compliance.
Hon. Ighrakpata made the call on Monday while hosting members of the Warri Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), in Warri.
The chairman noted that the media were in the best position to educate the public on the importance of tax compliance.
According to him, the media represents the voice of the people as well as the voice of the government adding that the mandate of the agency was to increase the revenue profile of the state.
He said that Governor Sheriff Oborevwori had done so well in the state and maintained that the only way to encourage him was for the tax payers to remit their taxes promptly.
He urged the media to carry out a robust sensitization of the informal sector of the economy which according to him had the higher percentage of the eligible tax payers.
The chairman said that those in the informal sector were always reluctant to pay taxes adding that some were not even aware of while they should remit their taxes.
“People hardly pay taxes voluntarily, they need a push and enforcement. So sensitization is very key and that is where we need the assistance of the media.
“The media should let the taxpayers to know why they need to pay their taxes because that is what the government uses to develop the state. The more revenue we get, the more development.
“Also, there is need for the journalists to carry out robust reports on the informal business sector due to the prevalent revenue leakages in the sector,” he said.
Ighrakpata observed that the state government would do more in terms of providing infrastructural development with an increased in the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
In his speech, the Chairman of the Warri Correspondents Chapel, Comrade Okies Okpomor, promised to support the service through coverage of its activities.
Okies also promised that the Chapel would key into the sensitization drive of the revenue service with a view to raising the awareness on the need to remit taxes promptly.
He, however, urged the chairman of DBIR to incorporate members of the Warri chapel into training schemes organized for information managers in the revenue service.
