A  senior partner, Ikata,
Ikata and Company,Mr. Emmanuel Iduoku Ikata, has called on corporate  organisations and individuals to pay their taxes to enable government meet the needs of the citizenry.
Ikata, who spoke to our correspondent in Abuja at the weekend  at a public event said paying of tax was a civic  responsibility.
He said the trend whereby people shun the payment of taxes was inimical to the smooth running of government in terms of projects implementation.
According to the certified accountant, the trend of not paying taxes if not checked was capable of depriving government of the  much needed revenue.
“It is a civic thing and tax as a matter of fact is a compulsory levy applied  by the state to raise  revenue with which to fund social projects”, he said.
Explaining further, he said tax payers were not to blame most times as taxes have not been used to their benefit in terms of social amenities.
“But I will confess as an individual not as a tax man now that tax  payers are not happy with the way that respective governments have employed the  taxes that have been paid so far”,  he said.
He said there was apathy on the part of the people  in paying their taxes despite the fact that they were aware that it is their civic responsibility.
Ikata, who has a special interest in taxation said between the government and the tax payer, the government was required to up their  game.
The tax expert said successive governments should show accountability and responsibility in the management of tax  funds even as he said people pay tax by bending over backwards.
“It is up to government to show responsibility by employing these taxes  employing these taxes properly”, he said.
According to Ikata, in every civilized society, tax has been the way of raising  funds for government to enable the citizens feel the impact of government.