The Rivers State Internal
Revenue Service (RIRS) has stressed the need for employers of labour in the state to deduct the taxes of their employees before paying March salaries.
This is contained in the massive sensitisation messages sent to employers by the service and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
According to the statement, the employers are also reminded to remit the deducted sum to the revenue service to enable government access the fund for the development of the state.
“Remember to deduct tax from your staff salaries as you pay them and remit to the Rivers State Government. Let us continue to build our state together,” the message said.
It would be recalled that RIRS in conjunction with the state Ministry of Finance resolved to use new strategies of massive sensitisation of employers and tax payers through text messages, jingles and other mass media, rather than the crude method of embarrassment and assault on the citizens.
The Executive Chairman of RIRS, Mrs Onene Osila Obele-Oshoko, said that the new method would work more as it appeals to the conscience of the people and help to educate the masses on the need to pay.
The RIRS boss noted that the new strategies adopted by the revenue board last year was responsible for the N9.6 billion peak achieved in February 2013, and that the problem of tax evasion was due to a communication gap between the management and the tax payers.
RIRS was also granted autonomy last year through a bill passed by the state House of Assembly tagged: “Internal Revenue Monitoring Agency Bill.”
The Tide gathered that the autonomy seeks to promote fiscal discipline, transparency and adherence to standard practice in financial transactions.