REPORTED BY GORDI UDEAJAH
In its strives to accelerate Withholding Tax collection and expand the number of payers among others, the Abia State Inland Revenue Service ( AIRS ) has launched a Withholding Tax Platform ( WHT-P ) and trained it’s staff on the operation.
This development has come on the heels of the state governor Dr Alex Otti signing into Law the statutorily approved N 750, 282, 200. 00 billion naira budget for the 2025 year which projected an internal revenue ( IGR ) generation ( IGR ) of N 100.6 billion.
The WHT-P was introduced to the ABIRS Staff by Mr Mike Opoko, a Representative of AppMart, who formulated the Platform. The session also featured the Staff training on the Platform operation.
It was gathered that Appmart, a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN ) Licensed company, had through its subsidiary named Revotax Ltd, developed several advanced systems that have supported various governments in Nigeria and West Africa with revenue collection.
According to the AppMart Chief Technical Officer ( CTO ) , Chief Anthony Umejiofor, the new AIRS Withholding Tax (WHT) platform is aimed at improving tax compliance.
He said that Concerned persons can register or log in at wht.abia.tax and validate their Abia State Social Identity Number ( ABSSIN) , upload and review their WHT schedule, and make secure payments online or at any bank.
He added that the Platform automates all Withholding Tax Payments, provide a seamless process for taxpayers in Abia state to handle their withholding tax and make payments, listing among its other key benefits, as allowing taxpayers to redeem their credit notes and apply them to reduce their income tax liabilities in the state.
The State AIRS Executive Chairman, professor Udochukwu Ogbonna said that Withholding Tax is imposed on those rendering services and or doing contracts whose percentages of the Tax they are liable to pay are statutorily deducted at source by the Companies and Agencies that award them these contracts.
He said that these contract-awarding Companies or Agencies are automatically mandated by the Law to deduct and remit 5 or 10 percent cost of the contracts as applicable , to government while paying the Contractors
According to the Chairman, the essence of creating the WHT-P is to trace the Withholding Tax payers to give them their Full Tax Assessment to ensure they pay their full tax.
” So what we did today was to create this platform so that all the Withholding Taxes paid are monitored by the AIRS to ensure that the final/full Tax is paid/collected”.
Professor Ogbonna said that for this WHT- P, AIRS collaborated with Appmart who provided the ICT know-how, while AIRS brought the Human Resources aspect.
Asked how this development can impact on increased tax collection in the state, the Chairman who is a professor of Finance, reacted thus ” this implies we are monitoring WHT now unlike before, to trace those Companies /Agents that are supposed to give us the information namely; the Contractors names, addresses, Telephone Contacts, emails etc through which we can reach them to pay their full taxes”
Noting that WHTAX is on persons and private /one-man businesses ( not limited companies), he added that the essence is to increase the Tax Net , get more People to pay, trace them, do their full tax assessment and collect the Taxes due them.
On the increasing Abia State IGR that has impacted massive development in all the state sectors , professor Ogbonna attributed it to governor Dr Alex Otti’s palpably sustained diligence, commitment, accountability.
He listed some challenges to Tax collection as resistance to pay when due, illegal collection, banks reluctance / delays in remitting what is due to government, etc
” We have had to summon banks on this scenario stressing state government’s resolve not to tolerate their further delays in remitting collected Withholding Taxes to government”
He warned against tax defaulting in the state directing potential payers to access the AIRS Website for right information and thus free themselves from the statutory consequences of defaulting.
The AIRS Director of Taxes Mr Chijioke Okoronka described this WHT-P as one that can address the some of the challenges of tax collection and positively impact timely and increased revenue collection for the state.
Two other top officers of the AIRS Mrs Bridget Eke ( the Secretary ) and Mrs Ijeoma Onyeaso, who is the head “Other MDAs Revenues” department corroborated each other saying that the Staff has poised to quickly domesticate and master the WHT- P effectively with the view to applying it to impact desirably, not only on revenue collection but expanding the number of Tax payers.
