We’re leveraging digital technologies to improve tax collection – Sokoto IGS Chair Tambuwal

The Executive Chairman, Sokoto State Internal Revenue Service (IGS), Alhaji Abubakar Zaki Tambuwal, has said the Service is leveraging on digital technologies to improve tax collection in the state.

During an interview, Wednesday, Tambuwal, who was appointed by Governor Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto in August, 2023, said the governor has been supportive in meeting the human and material resources of the agency. He added that improvement in the collection of taxes by the service is because of the conducive working environment provided by the governor, including resources like motorcycles, technology and vehicles.

He said: “We were exactly one year in August, having been appointed on August 23, 2023, by His Excellency Governor Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto. Taxpayers and stakeholders engagement is a daily routine activity. We are always engaging with the public on our various social media platforms, the media and physically. From the update that I got, tax collection improved by 10% since the enforcement exercise by the Service commenced.

“Our strategy is straightforward. First, we have tried to understand our taxpayers and work in line with the law establishing the Service which has guided our collections. For instance, in calculating the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) we insist on the correct application of the table. There are several other game changers. We have automated all our processes and very critically blocked leakages and through enforcement and enlightenment improved the compliance rate. Our target for 2024 of N37 billion is achievable. I am confident going by our performance in the first three quarters as of June 30.

“As I earlier said, we are always on social media and local media, and we have continued to organise physical sensitisation programmes to educate and sensitise our potential taxpayers. We have also developed end-to-end system automation where all our operations have been simplified and can be accessed through self-service platforms.

“Technology has shown that it is relevant to every revenue collecting service. They must not only acquire it but must continue to update it to identify the tax base, monitor compliance and make the overall taxpayer experience easier. We are no longer talking about potentials. There is no profession, including football, that’s not making use of it. In football, you have the VAR that helps the referee decide on any issue. So, we have leveraged on digital technologies to improve tax collection.”

He added: “The governor has invested heavily in the digitalisation of tax collection and I am certain he will continue to do so, especially as we continue to improve collection. We must justify the investment in digital technologies. Being online means our taxpayers know we are open and reachable round the clock and throughout the globe. We are running an ICT-oriented Revenue Services. We have an Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS) that is accessible via itas.irs.sk.gov.ng and, like I said earlier, all our operations have been automated. Activities from taxpayer enumeration, unique taxpayer ID generation, bill and invoice generation, electronic payments with more than five payment channels, tax assessment, tax clearance certificate, e-receipting and many more.

“Prohibition of cash collection is captured in our tax law and I believe that Sokoto state law initiated this before Kaduna state, it has been a practice here even before the deployment of an automated method of payment. Cash collection is a serious misconduct. The law prohibits cash collection from taxpayers by our staff. Payments can only be made directly to the revenue accounts, and that has been simplified and automated through payment gateways.

“We have embraced digital technology and that has been effective in driving collection. The new management team of the Service continues to make it clear that payments must be made using an accurate tax table. This is what tax compliance is all about. By applying the wrong tax table, the government is short-changed. We will also increase collaborations between all the services and the MDAs.”