Mr Dashe Arlat, the Chairman, Plateau State Internal Revenue Service (PSIRS) made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Jos.

According to him, July 1 has been fixed for the commencement of enumeration and verification across the nation toward boosting the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the States and the nation in general.

“Once the MoU is signed, every individual particularly income earners must declare his or her assets for assessment and correct payment of tax to the government for developmental purposes.

“The exercise is also aimed at eradicating false asses declaration and exposure of tax evaders in the society as well as give government the desired funds to provide desired social amenities to the people, ’’ he explained.

Arlat explained that PSIRS had taken drastic measures recently, which had contributed to the rise in the state’s IGR to almost N900 million in a month.

He disclosed that in preparation for the exercise, PSIRS members of staff as well as consultant would soon begin enumeration and issuance of demand notice to all taxable individuals in both formal and informal sectors.

The individuals he said include commercial motorcyclists, market women, wielders, shoe makers, hair-dressers, kiosk owners, and tricycle operators among others in the informal sector.

He explained that the essence of the asset verification was to enable all the States Internal Revenue Service build a re-boost and reliable data base for effective revenue collection.

“Even with the ongoing direct assessment, people hardly tell us their exact earnings and therefore have been short changing the government in paying their taxes.

“With this new system the Federal Government is about to introduce across the country, it will not only help boost our IGR but stem corruption in the country.

“Again, every tax payer will be issued a tax clearance certificate after payment; so if you pay your tax you should demand for your tax clearance to avoid any embarrassment from tax officials and security operatives, ’’ the PSIRS said.

Arlat, who appealed to all tax payers to ensure that they obtain their Tax Identification Number (TIN) said “no tax can be paid without the TIN number.’’

The chairman expressed joy that the revenue collection of the state was on the increase, adding that he was optimistic that with the commencement of the verification, government would not fail the people in provision of infrastructures. (NAN)