By Akakan Umoh
The Akwa Ibom Commissioner for Finance, Linus Nkan has identified public mistrust in past leaderships as a factor responsible for poor tax payment in the country.
Nkan who stated this Monday during the unveiling of Akwa Ibom State Internal Revenue Service (AKIRS) at the board’s headquarters, Banking Layout, Uyo said the public did not trust the leaderships on how the taxes were spent, hence they became negligent in tax payment..
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The Commissioner stated that during Federation of Allocation Accounts Committee (FAAC) meeting, most earnings come from taxes, not necessarily crude oil (as it was before).
He observed that the controversy surrounding the operations of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Ltd has led to dwindling revenues that should accrue to FAAC monthly for distribution to different tiers of government in the country.
Nkan described tax payment as an obligation which people should do voluntarily, challenging eligible tax payers to find how their parents in their heydays took serious interest in the payment of taxes.
The Finance helmsman hailed the Executive Chairman of AKIRS, Sir Okon Okon for his innovations in tax payment, seeing the move as strategic to ease his work in raking in more taxes into the state treasury.
He used the occasion to commend the media for the support given Pastor Umo Eno administration under ARISE Agenda and in the tax payment.
The Commissioner for Information, Comrade Ini Ememobong reminisced that content was emphasized in communication, but today the music has changed to good content in an effort to use message to woo a wider audience.
Ememobong, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information, Akparawa James Edet, reiterated the need for the media to use good reportage, editorials and proper programming to reach the public on tax payment.
He thanked AKIRS for introducing new messages to captivate the public to pay taxes into the coffers of government, not into private pockets.
Earlier, the Executive Chairman, Akwa Ibom State Internal Revenue Service, AKIRS, Sir Okon Okon, said the radio programme will expand the Service’s channels of communication with taxpayers, provide opportunity for instant feedback from the public through a phone-in provided for in the live discussion segment of the programme.
Okon who was a Finance Journalist for The Guardian stated that the board would also produce flexible magazine on a three-month basis to drive home tax message, and explained that the programmes would raise people’s consciousness on tax payment, noting that those people have knowledge about taxes, they do not want to as and when due.
While commending the media for their support on public enlightenment, Okon urged the mass media to do more for people to pay their taxes without any force.
The producer of the radio programme, Uwem Obot and Abasifreke Effiong set tone for the radio programme.
