The Kwara State Internal Revenue Service has allayed fears over the new taxation system to be introduced to the state.

The Executive Chairman of the Service, Dr. Murtala Awodun, who gave the assurance in an exclusive interview with VON correspondent in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, disclosed that the agency would formally begin operations on 2nd January, next year.

He also stated that all the various engagements of collecting tax by the road side had been terminated, cautioning that nobody was authorized to collect money or tax on the road.

According to him, in view of the dwindling fall in Federal Allocation, the State government wanted to reposition the method of tax collection by establishing the agency to ensure that money got to the coffers of the government.

Dr. Awodun noted that the agency would block all the leakages and loopholes in the process of tax collection and introduce technology to abolish hand to hand payment to drive the process.

This, he added, would lead to uniformity, harmonized and a well organized collection of tax on one single platform.

The revenue boss assured citizens that the process of collecting tax through control poles would change gradually, while technology would be deployed to drive the process.

He said the Agency was established by an Act approved by the State House of Assembly to be the sole tax collector in the state.

Dr Awodun also stated that the agency is directly under the state governor's office.

According to him, no staff of the defunct Kwara State Board of Internal Revenue was sacked, saying that twenty percent of them were re engaged into the Service, while others were posted to the Civil Service.

The Executive Chairman of the agency explained that the first set of staff engaged had started training and that as from Monday, would begin interaction with people in the informal sector as well as carry out sensitization programmes on the payment of tax.

Dr. Awodun says the agency is collaborating with the Chartered Institute of Taxation to organise a forum to educate the people.