Nyerhovwo Oghenetejiri
Delta State Board of Internal Revenue (DBIR) under Hon Joel-Onowakpo Thomas as Executive chairman, has successfully prosecuted 55 cases and
recovered over N1.2Billion from tax defaulters operating in the hospitality, oil & gas, engineering, trade, education and business, just as his Board has a current stock of 55 freshly filed cases in which they expect to collect N72 Million in the next few months.
The Board chairman said that the most effective ways of getting unscrupulous and morally bankrupt elements in our society to comply with tax laws is to go after them with the full might of the law, this approach according to him, has been tried, tested and is trusted by all leading Tax Administration Agencies across the world.
Hon. Joel-Onowakpo made the observation while declaring open the 2014
retreat for staff of the Delta state Board of Internal Revenue in Effurun, UVWIE Local Government Area with theme, “Teamwork for Achieving Revenue Targets in Black Economy.”
According to him, “I am delighted to address you on the occasion of this year’s retreat. This is the third consecutive retreat since it was initiated by the present Board when it started at Songhai-Delta, Amukpe, Sapele in 2012. It is our desire to ensure that capacity building of this magnitude is sustained on yearly basis. Let me use this opportunity to reiterate my sincere appreciation to His Excellency, Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan (CON), the Executive Governor of adults State for approving the retreat. This is an ate station of
his commitment to supporting the DBIR to actualize its mandate of increased revenue generation in line with the vision of “Delta Beyond Oil.”
He said that in spite of the challenges associated with the new Personal Income Tax (Amendment) Act as amended in 2011, his Board has raised the average Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from N1.2Billion in 2009 to about N4.2Billion presently on a monthly basis amounting to over 250% increase over a four year period.
The Executive chairman of DBIR said that theme of the retreat was apt
and relevant bearing in mind the higher revenue projection of N62.49Billion for the year 2014, adding that it was imperative for staff to double their efforts and do things differently to enable the Board meet her target and even surpass it.
While expressing the hope that the retreat would place the staff on the path towards actualizing the target for 2014 and beyond, the DBIR Boss said, “Before I delve into the substance of my assignment this morning, I will like to appreciate the members of the Board. You have been truly supportive and your advice has been extremely valuable in getting us to where we are today.”
In his welcome address, the Member representing Delta South on the Board and chairman of the 2014 Retreat Committee, Austine Oburuogbeyi Esq. said that as tax agents of the Delta State Government with target to raise more money into the state coffers, it was expedient to build the capacity of staff for improved productivity.
He stated that this year’s retreat would be different from the previous ones as it was structured to give participants the opportunity to evaluate their performance, make meaningful suggestion that would in no small measure improve revenue generation, he expressed appreciation to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan and the Executive Chairman of the Board for giving approvals for the retreat.
The retreat was rounded up with a sent-forth party for retired staff of the Board.
