Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has set a September 1, 2023 target to migrate the state into a Treasury Single Account (TSA).
Dr. Otti said from that date all monies accruing to the State will be paid into a single account. Likewise, all payments by the state will be made through same account.
The Governor spoke Wednesday at a townhall meeting with the leaderships of the transport unions and markets in the state, held at the Banquet Hall of the Government House in Umuahia, capital of Abia.
The townhall meeting was to educate as well as enlighten transporters and traders in the state on their obligations as the state adopts the new digital system of tax payments.
“Our government is a very responsible government. We must put the people first and that’s why you’re here,” the Governor told his audience as he set the tone and agenda for the event.
Governor Otti reiterated that the whole essence of digitalising the tax regime in the state is to eliminate all forms of sharp practices including fraud, diversion of proceeds and middlemen.
“Now, you can pay from the comfort of your home or office, get digital receipts on your mobile devices. We can authenticate your receipts through a code, I believe it’s a QR code. We can read your receipts and know whether they’re authentic or not.
“This scheme is carefully designed to develop and empower our people. It will lead to employment generation and also give confidence to our people that their payments are getting to the right place,” Governor Otti further explained.
He called on the stakeholders in revenue generation to embrace the new tax regime, insisting that it would help in eliminating all forms of manual collection of revenue and fraud, increase the revenue base of the State, help in the ease of doing business, attract local and international investors and also help the government fulfill its campaign promises to the people of Abia State.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Governor on IGR, Mr. Chimereze Okigbo said the town hall meeting was to have useful interactions with the necessary stakeholders given the formal launch of the new digital tax system.
He said the system is simple and aimed at blocking revenue leakages of the State through the elimination of middlemen in government revenue collection. He said government would profile agents and place them in various locations to assist in the system to make it seamless.
