From Abdulrazaq Mungadi, Gombe
The Joint Tax Board (JTB) on Tuesday launched a sensitisation meeting on the implementation of the single inter-state road tax sticker (SIRTS) and single haulage fee (SHF) in Gombe State.
According to the board, sensitisation of the stakeholders was to bring them on board as the state prepare to implement the plan which seeks to address the issue of multiple taxation on Nigeria’s highways.
This was disclosed by Samson Daniel a senior manager at JTB while speaking on behalf of the executive secretary of the board, at the event which was organised by the JTB in collaboration with the Gombe State Internal Revenue Service (GIRS).
He explained that the initiative is aimed at ending illegal tax collection and extortion on the highways, as well as blocking revenue leakages in the country. He added that the initiative has been accepted and is being implemented in 22 states of the federation.
“SIRTS seeks to remove all roadblocks, if you go through states across the country, what our people in the transport business face are different kinds of roadblocks and different kinds of taxes, which is not good for us. In the implementation of the ease of doing business Nigeria is ranking very well, so, for us to implement that very well is to ensure that all types of multiple taxes and roadblocks are removed from the roads,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Gombe state chapter of the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) Muhammad Muhammad, welcomed the initiative stating that it would address several challenges associated with transporting goods and other commodities from the north to the south.
He explained that the association is in full support of plans and initiatives being developed to address the issue of multiple taxation in the country, especially in the transport sector. He said, “We are tired of being stopped and taxed at every point while transporting goods from Gombe to Calabar and other parts of the country.
“Our drivers spend as much as N350,000 on tax while transporting grain, cattle, and other goods from Gombe to a state like Calabar, that is too much and it most of the time comes with hostility and threat to live. We will support and cooperate with any plan of the government to change the look of things on our highways,” Muhammad assured.
On his part, the Executive Chairman of the GIRS Salihu Baba Alkali expressed optimism that the if implemented the SIRTS and SHF initiative will be beneficial to the state and other residents especially those in the transport business. He tasks stakeholders and other association leaders at the meeting to go back and sensitive their members and the public on the initiative as he assured that the state government will always support and develop initiatives that would make life easy for all.