IGR of 36 states rises by N360bn in 2 years – Fayemi

The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, at the 8th IGR Peer Learning Event and launch of the NGF public finance database in Abuja, disclosed that the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the 36 states of the Federation rose by N360 billion in two years. The governor said that the states collectively grew the IGR from N1.31 trillion in 2019 to N1.67 trillion in 2021. He added that the share of IGR in total recurrent revenue of the states also rose from 31 per cent in 2019 to 35 per cent in 2021.

The governor said that the conscious reforms in tax administration in the states resulted in the improved revenue generation.

According to Fayemi, “Consensus reforms were focused on ending multiple taxation; professionalising and modernising our revenue services; embracing a tax payer-centric culture that eases compliance and strengthens the existing social contract.

“What we need to do better is to foster an enabling tax environment and administration that allows us to optimise our revenue potential as sub-nationals.

“Our pursuit to do things differently has benefited from the relentless efforts of our state officials, technical assistance programmes within our Secretariat and from partners’ support.”

Fayemi, however, cautioned that state governments must adjust to the fast-changing tax environment if they must stay ahead of evasion and avoidance tactics. He said that attention must be given to the emerging dynamics surrounding private income.

The governor listed the dynamics to include devaluation effect of rising inflation rate, structural transition in employment, business dealings and investments driven by the evolution of technology.

Fayemi urged governors to examine ways of expanding their tax nets and improve the tax payer database, which he said would require ending the proliferation of tax payers’ identification numbers and databases.

“It is pertinent that we harmonise; leveraging a unique identification number as it is the global best practice.

“For us to achieve this, information sharing between jurisdictions must be seamless, not only between the tiers of government, but also inter and intra-state,” Fayemi said.