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| Kaduna state Governor, Nasir El-Rufai |
Kaduna's governor, Nasir El-Rufai, claimed on Saturday that the state's investments in the health and education sectors were already showing positive benefits.
This was said by Mr. El-Rufai in Kaduna at the State Internal Revenue Service Tax Dialogue's First Edition, which had as its theme "Voluntary Tax Compliance: A Fundamental for Social Contract and Service Delivery."
He said that the state allocated a sizeable portion of its annual budget to health and education, and that this investment was already benefiting both industries in the state.
Only 22% of the state's pupils who took the WAEC Senior School Certificate Examination (WAEC SSCE) in 2015 received five credits, including math and English language, according to the governor.
He disclosed that in 2021, the performance jumped to 76 per cent, adding that “This clearly shows that investment in the education sector is beginning to yield the desired results.
“Our investment in the health sector also shows a reduction in infant and maternal mortalities,” he said.
The governor said that the state was using taxpayers’ money to invest in the people and urged residents to imbibe voluntary tax compliance to enable the state to serve them better.
He said that the government was also investing in infrastructure and power supply to attract businesses to the state.
In his keynote address, Justice Benedict Kanyip, President of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, said that the governments required cash to fund development goals.
Mr Kanyip pointed out that the state’s elite, who should understand the concept of taxation as a social contract, were the ones resisting the payment of tax.
“The state is notorious for the elite’s refusal to pay tax, with 30,000 companies reported to have evaded tax in 2019.
“Also, a study on the personal income tax gap conducted in 2018 showed that the amount people were paying as personal income tax in Kaduna, represented only 13.85 per cent of potential personal income tax payable in the state,” he said.
“We must understand that tax is a part of the society, which the residents must willingly embrace and not fight as tax is crucial to the process of development,” he said.
He said that the obligation of citizens on tax payments provided the rationale for tax enforcement and penal consequences for default.
(NAN)