Stakeholders advocate for devt levy, tax for services

From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

The Tax Justice Network (TJN), has expressed its commitment to advocating for development levies and taxes for service, to ensure that a specific amount of money goes back to the community.
The coordinator of TJN in Kaduna, Mr Simeon Olatunde, asserted this during an engagement to ensure possible ways of increasing the visibility of Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR) through their reportage in Kaduna.
According to him over the years, the Network has been promoting good governance, tax education, and awareness to protect and advance taxpayers’ rights and compliance collaboratively with the state government, private sector, and development partners to improve and enhance the tax system that is inclusive and citizen-driven.
Olatunde added that the network engaged communities through the Community Development Charter (CDC) process to discuss concerns about tax at their community level.
The coordinator of TJN however (TJN), expressed dismay that the knowledge of tax procedure is scarce among its media partners in Kaduna, hence the need to build their capacity for efficient and effective reportage.
Olatunde who disclosed that engagement in partnership with the Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service (KADIRS), disclosed that the media who was also part of the network have very scanty knowledge of tax, which sometimes revolves around figures and tax lines, hence the need to build their capacity for efficient and effective reportage.
He described the media as a strategic partner whose contributions to promoting a fair, inclusive, and citizen-driven tax process was paramount.
Everything we are doing on the network with the media is only at the micro level, not at a wider coverage,” he said.
He, therefore, said the engagement was to carry along other media, to expand the scope and educate, and build their capacity to bring an end to the issues of tax education.