Akwa Ibom Plans Aggressive Tax Drive in 2018

By Okon Bassey in Uyo

The Akwa Ibom State Government has said that it will embark on more aggressive tax drive in 2018 in order to improve its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

The state Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Linus Nsikan Nkan, who announced this during a chat with journalists in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, lamented the poor IGR recorded in the state in 2017.

He explained that the state government plans to hold a stakeholders or tax summit in the first quarter of next year to seek support, advice and new measures from experts on how to boost its revenue and expanding the tax network of the state.

Nkan, who described as dismal the current tax coverage in the state, stressed that from next year, the state government will cover many neglected or abandoned areas in its new tax drive.

According to the finance commissioner, tax derivation in the state fluctuates between N600 million and N800 million monthly except in January 2017 that the state was able to realise about N1 billion.

Details later…