Nasarawa moves to fix border tax breach

The Nasarawa State government has finalised plans to address years of border tax breaches by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), in a historic initiative that could significantly boost its monthly revenue from a mere N100 million to over N1 billion.

In partnership with FourCore Technology Solutions Limited, a foremost technology and tax audit firm, the state hopes to reclaim arrears of taxes paid by border residents within Abuja particularly the Mararraba/ Karu axis by putting the residency tax law into effect.

Speaking during the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the state government and the tax consultant in Lafia, the state capital, Nasarawa State Deputy Governor, Mr. Silas Ali Agara described the initiative as “great and historic” for the state.

He said the administration of Governor Tanko Almakura had been resolute and passionate about seeking alternative sources of funding for the state whereby its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) could sustain it for up to four months without recourse to the Federation Account.

He decried a situation whereby the state, which shares the largest corridor with the FCT has 50 percent of the people who work in Abuja residing in the state and yet pay taxes to the former.

Managing Director/Chief Executive, FourCore Technology Solutions Limited, Mr. Mohammed Ciroma said the MoU with the state will impact positively on its IGR.

He lamented that the residency law had actively been breached by the FCT to the detriment of the state for many years but gave assurance that the anomaly will soon be addressed in favour of Nasarawa.