The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on Thursday expressed commitment toward boosting revenue generation at all levels, in the territory.
FCT’s Permanent Secretary, Mr. Christian Ohaa, gave the assurance at the FCT-IRS Board Retreat in Abuja.
Ohaa, who was represented by the Director of Treasury, Mr Ishaku Ismaila, said the administration was optimistic that the retreat would bring about cross fertilisation of ideas, and open more frontiers of progress within FCT and the country at large.
He noted that the FCTA-IRS was established in 2015 to enhance revenue mobilisation strategies that would achieve adequate Federal Government subventions and the marginal internally generated revenue.
Malam Abdullahi Attah, Executive Chairman, Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service(FCT-IRS), said the service had as its core vision to make a major shift away from reliance on PAYE collections, which covers a very small group of its tax payers, toward reliance on direct assessment of personal income tax.
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Attah said the service was making efforts to ensure that within five years, direct assessment contributes a minimum of 50 per cent of its total tax collections in the FCT IRS
The executive chairman said that the retreat presented an opportunity for stakeholders to review the areas, in which they had excelled, and equally identify their shortcomings.
He solicited the full support of FCT Area Councils Chairmen, to harmonise revenue issues.
The FCT ALGON Chairman, Mustapha Denze, commended the revenue board for the initiative, which he said was going to help in addressing the gaps.
Denze described the retreat as an opportunity for the area councils and FCTA to brainstorm, on how best revenue sharing formula should be.
The chairman, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Alhaji Abdullahi Candido, said the retreat would bring to an end whatever conflict that exists between Area Councils and FCT Administration, as relates to matters of tax and revenue collection.
According to him, the council chairmen are concerned with protecting what is meant for the councils. (NAN)
