Date: 2017-03-14

The Chairman of the Joint Tax Board, Mr. Babatunde Fowler, has urged state governors to grant autonomy to their revenue boards to enable them perform optimally.

Fowler, who is also the Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, stated this at the opening ceremony of the 137th Meeting of the JTB held in Ilorin, Kwara State.

A statement from the FIRS on Monday quoted him to have commended the Governor of Kwara State, AbdulFatah Ahmed for improving the tax revenue of the state.

The state's annual internally generated revenue grew from N7.1bn in 2015 to N17.2bn in 2016

He said, "The good work that you are doing is evident in the performance of the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service. It is good enough for others to follow. We commend the work that KWIRS is doing and agreed amongst ourselves to adopt is as a model.

"Like I often tell my colleagues, we members of JTB must not disappoint Nigerians. I like you to call on other governors, your colleagues in other states who have not taken the bold step to please do and give autonomy to State Internal Revenue Services. Please help us to convey this to them as an ambassador and tell other governors."

While calling on the members of the JTB to intensify efforts towards meeting their revenue targets, he called on the various state governments to enhance funding of tax authorities so as to achieve the desired objectives.

"You may have a vision. But if you don't have the revenue to drive that vision, it is mere dream, he added.

The governor, according to the statement said the state has floated the Kwara State Infrastructure Bond into which a percentage of the state's IGR will be paid.

He added that the objective of the said the state is to ensure that contractors are no longer owed, adding that with this development, banks would no longer panic when they give loans to contractors.