Cross River State Governor, Senator (Prince) Bassey Edet Otu has confessed that his administration has progressively increased the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state.
Otu, who made this disclosure during the commissioning of the renovated Calabar 1 tax office, said although generating revenue does not stop with collecting taxes from the people, his government was doing everything to deliver democracy dividends from taxes so collected.
Represented by the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Mike Odere, the governor noted that the state’s IGR has increased by 209% in the last eighteen months and that the feat was achieved “not by increasing taxes but because the state became more efficient in tax collection.”
For years, the Calabar 1 tax office located along IBB Way in Calabar had been in bad shape with a dilapidated building, made worse when a heavy wind blew off part of the building’s roof and threatened the structure.
The governor said: “We collect our taxes in a way that will not affect the taxpayers negatively and we have leveraged technology to automate all our processes which has reduced income leakages through pilfering.
“Before now, we had a tax office that does not do everything but today, it is a one-stop-shop, meaning you can do everything you want as far as tax collection is concerned in the office,” he said.
The governor who noted that the state’s IGR has increased by 209% in the last 18 months said the feat was achieved not by increasing taxes but because the state became more efficient in tax collection to N22 billion.
However, as of Dec. 2024, he said, the present administration in the state had grown the IGR to N46 billion.
While appreciating the governor for the achievement, Okon called on the staff of the service to ensure that the target given to them for 2025 was surpassed.
“For 2025, we will surprise the governor. I have told my team that we will work to beat the target we were given as an agency. We are also happy that everyone can see what the governor is doing with the tax in the state,” he noted.
Member of the State House of Assembly and member representing Boki 2 state constituency, Mr Hilary Bisong, used the occasion to commend the governor and the Cross River IRS for the feat that has been achieved..
According to him, in the last few months, the revenue of the state had increased geometrically adding that in 2024, one of the tax offices in the state was renovated in Akamkpa.
He also disclosed that the House will continue to partner with the IRS to harmonise all the taxes in the state while urging the agency not to hesitate to call on the House in areas where they desire improvements.
