From Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
The Executive Chairman of the Edo State Internal Revenue Service (EIRS), Mr. Bankole Balogun, has exonerated the EIRS from the incident that led to the death of a toddler in the state, saying the peddlers of such information are those who have refused to accept the leadership of Senator Monday Okpebholo as the governor of the state.
A two-year-old girl was crushed to death by a commercial driver on Wednesday evening last week during a clash with officers of the Edo State Public Safety Response Team (PSR) while driving at Ring Road, Benin.
An eyewitness, who craved anonymity, said the PSR agents attempted to seize the steering wheel of the moving vehicle, causing the driver to lose control.
The bus then veered off the road and rammed into a roadside PoS kiosk where the young girl and her mother were standing, killing the child instantly.
This tragic incident has since been wrongly linked to the EIRS.
Speaking on the matter and other sundry issues in the state while receiving the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Edo State Council, who paid a courtesy call on him, Mr. Balogun, who sympathised with the deceased’s family, said the EIRS is not responsible for the death of the toddler because the PSR staff are not under his control, nor did he send anyone to collect revenue on their behalf.
He wondered why anyone would attribute such an incident to the EIRS.
“As it is right now, there are a lot of unfortunate political postulations here and there, typically aimed at bringing down a democratically elected government of the state.
“People are not happy to accept the will of the people and carry on with their lives; rather, they look for all sorts of dangerous ways to create problems in public politics.
“You alluded very rightly to a very unfortunate situation that happened a week or two weeks ago involving somebody who was evading arrest and who, sadly, was the causative factor for the loss of a child.
“Now, that has absolutely nothing to do with the revenue service of Edo State. Absolutely nothing.
“So, why would anybody ascribe that to the revenue service if not for some sort of political undertones?” Balogun said.
Mr. Balogun also denied increasing taxes for private schools in the state, noting that any increment in taxation requires the approval of the State House of Assembly.
“And similarly, there’s some news going around now that the revenue service has unilaterally increased taxation in private schools, but there’s absolutely no truth in that.
“And I want to thank Mr. Benjamin and our legal adviser for the sterling role they played this morning on your station to dispel this.
“Taxation and tax law are governed by statute. It’s governed by law. So, we cannot arbitrarily get up here today and say we want to tax you. Every tax is itemised by law.
“So, the taxes that schools, individuals, and private enterprises are being charged are governed by law. There is a coding, there’s a formula for that.
“So, perhaps the situation that some of these people are facing is because the revenue service is now alive to its responsibilities and chasing after people who have been under-assessed, under-declaring, or evading or avoiding tax.
“They now turn it around to say that we are acting arbitrarily. The only entity that can increase tax for the state is the State House of Assembly, upon approval by the executive governor of the state, in line with federal tax laws.
“So, it’s a whole conundrum. Bankole Balogun and his directors and senior people here don’t send people outside and say, ‘You know, we are increasing tax.’
“No, it doesn’t work like that. And they themselves know it doesn’t work like that, but in order to create panic, confusion, and disaffection—which, as far as I’m concerned, is poor journalism—it has the potential to create unnecessary havoc,” Balogun said.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Edo State Council, Dr. Festus Alenkhe, commended the leadership of the EIRS for their efforts in the state.
He also appealed to the leadership of the EIRS to educate their staff on how to conduct their revenue drive so that it becomes a win-win situation for taxpayers and the government.