Victor EzejaIn his quest to run a transparent and accountable government, Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has announced plans to migrate the state into a Treasury Single Account (TSA) lasted by September 1, 2023.
According to the governor, all monies accruing to the State will from that date be paid into a single account. He added that all payments by the state will be made through the same account.
The governor made this known on Wednesday at a town hall meeting with the leaderships of the transport unions and markets in the state, held at the Banquet Hall of the Government House in Umuahia.
READ ALSO: Abia’s New Digital Tax System Will Curb Fraud, Increase Revenue – Otti
According to a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Kazie Uko, the town hall meeting was to educate as well as enlighten transporters and traders in the state on their obligations as the state adopts the new digital system of tax payments.
“Our government is a very responsible government. We must put the people first and that’s why you’re here,” the governor stated.
Otti reiterated that the whole essence of digitalising the tax regime in the state is to eliminate all forms of sharp practices including fraud, diversion of proceeds and middlemen.
“Now, you can pay from the comfort of your home or office, and get digital receipts on your mobile devices. We can authenticate your receipts through a code, I believe it’s a QR code. We can read your receipts and know whether they’re authentic or not.
“This scheme is carefully designed to develop and empower our people. It will lead to employment generation and also give confidence to our people that their payments are getting to the right place,” Governor Otti further explained.
He called on the stakeholders in revenue generation to embrace the new tax regime, insisting that it would help in eliminating all forms of manual collection of revenue and fraud, increase the revenue base of the State, help in the ease of doing business, attract local and international investors and also help the government fulfill its campaign promises to the people of Abia State.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Governor on IGR, Mr. Chimereze Okigbo said the town hall meeting was to have useful interactions with the necessary stakeholders given the formal launch of the new digital tax system.
He said the system is simple and aimed at blocking revenue leakages in the State through the elimination of middlemen in government revenue collection. He added that government would profile agents and place them in various locations to assist in the system to make it seamless.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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