By Daniel Dauda, Jos

Plateau State Internal Revenue Service(PSIRS), have expressed optimism and hoping to hit the target of N18 billion revenue drive Projection for the year 2021.

The state revenue generating body said has already achieved a significant milestone of N16,446,960,604.99 surpassing the initial N16 billion target for the year 2020 budget.

Addressing Journalists, Tuesday, on the year 2020 2nd and 3rd quarter reports, PSIRS Chairman Mr. Dashe Arlat revealed that the state internal generated revenue(IGR), target was put at N22 billion with “PSIRS target pegged at N16 billion in 2020.

“As a service, PSIRS devised it’s strategies and poised itself to meet and even surpass it’s 2020 target of N16 billion.”

Arlat said the service recognized the suffering of businesses across the state and quickly introduced palliative tax relief measures to help mitigate the adverse effects of COVID-19 on Plateau businesses.

These measures includes; extension of timelines for filing of annual returns, waiver of penalties and interests charged due to late returns and reduction of interest for the late payments, granting 1% bonus to all payers who file returns early, suspension of enforcement of outstanding tax liabilities and reduction of taxes payable by informal sector businesses by 50% among others.

He further explain that on the period under review, IGR recorded in the first quarter amounted to N7,203,329,641.61, second quarter N2,196,735,606.11 and third quarter N7, 046,895,357.27 respectively which gave a grand total of N16,446,960,604.99.

PSIRS Boss, Arlat also enumerated some of the strategies and policies deployed to ensure the harmonization revenue drive across the state this includes;

Intensified tax assessment at PSIRS headquarters and Zonal offices, aggressive tax audit and investigation, aggressive tax payer education and sensitization, sustain engagements with Plateau business community, trade unions and associations increased enforcement in the formal and informal sector and aggressive monitoring and evaluation in year 2020.

He suggested the urgent need for Government and citizens to brace up and confront the present realities of a harsh economic climate that now confronts us.

“Strategies must evolved to ensure that revenues are harnessed and collected from the little activities going on even amidst the pandemic to keep the wheels of government turning to meet the needs of the people.”

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PSIRS Target N18B Projection In 2021