Minister allays fear over proposed FCT revenue board
From Okumephuna Chukwunwike,(Abuja)
FEAR that establishment of a separate board of internal revenue by the Federal Capital Territory will lead to double taxation has been allayed by the FCT Minister, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai.
El-Rufai spoke while receiving report of a panel raised to look into the possibility of having the revenue board in the territory.
On the need for the board, he said it has become apparent that the FCT administration cannot continue to rely on the budget alone to deliver services to the people.
He denied any disagreement between the FCT and the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) over the establishment of the proposed Board of Internal Revenue.
"This is because the organisational structure of the proposed FCT Board of Internal Revenue is consistent with the wish of the FIRS", he said.
El-Rufai stressed the need for the FCT to collect taxes and also retain it, quoting Section 299 of the constitution to support his administration's position.
The minister commended the former Permanent Secretary
of the ministry, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, for initiating the idea of establishing the board. He said that the FCT administration was only waiting for the bill, which has gone through the House of Representatives to be passed into law.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of the committee,
Mr. Sylvia Ameh, said the panel had taken due consideration of the fear of double taxation and Personal Income Tax Decree 104 of 1993 and stated that Schedule 2, Section 10 of the 1999 Constitution is explicit enough on the issue.
"Therefore, there is no fear of legality and other ancillary issues being raised in some quarters", he said.
Also present at the ceremony were representatives of the
Joint Tax Committee on the establishment of FIRS.
Meanwhile, the minister has asked contractors handling the various township road projects in the FCT to speed up.
He gave the order yesterday when he paid an unscheduled visit to some of sites of the road projects in the FCT.
At the Dei-Dei end of the road being handled by Dantata & Sawoe, El-Rufai expressed satisfaction with the quality of work being done but decried the absence of drainage system, which he said could destroy the good job already done.
He urged the contractors to ensure that the drainages are urgently put in place to preserve the roads and prevent over-flooding.
Also, the minister has expressed dismay over the inability of private developers to build more than 20,000 housing units in the territory despite the 1,900 hectares of land provided by his ministry which are claimed to be capable of accommodating over 190, 000 housing units.
He expressed his dissatisfaction while receiving members of the House of Representatives Committee on Housing and Urban Development, led by its chairman, Osita Izunaso.
The minister pointed out that the standard of the houses already built by some of the developers are below expectation.
El-Rufai disclosed that his administration has issued only about 13, 000 Certificates-of-Occupancy (C of O) since inception, adding that anything more than that is forgery.
