Emmanuel Nnamani, the chairman of the Enugu Internal Revenue Service (ESIRS), has said that the state government introduced a single tax payment to address the issue of multiple taxation.

Mr Nnamani said this while briefing journalists on the activities of his agency on Monday in Enugu.

He said that the state government was able to eliminate double taxation through the introduction of a single yearly unified tax payment system using the e-ticket solution.

According to him, the system allows business owners in the informal sector to pay their taxes once a year using an e-ticket platform rather than paying into different revenue-generating ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

“Enugu has the most friendly tax environment and this is evident in the informal sector.

“In Enugu, one of the things we are known for is our e-ticket, a unified tax collection or consolidated tax collection.

“What it means is that the government brought all the revenue-generating MDAs into the e-ticket system so that once anybody in the informal sector pays through the e-ticket, nobody comes to ask for tax from that person again,” he said.

Mr Nnamani further explained that in all the markets in the state, once a trader pays his or her tax in a year, nobody would disturb such a person again in terms of revenue.

“So, with that, it has made Enugu a friendly tax environment whereby you know what you are supposed to pay; you pay it and go about your business,” he said.

Mr Nnamani also said that a similar system applied to the formal sector, where business owners did not need to pay multiple times to different agencies.

According to him, in the formal sector, the government employed what is called a Consolidated Demand Notice.

“With this, you do not need to pay Land Use Charge and Enugu State Waste Management Agency (ESWAMA) bills differently. The notice is all-encompassing.

“With one single demand notice that covers all fees supposed to be paid to the state.

“You can now choose to pay monthly, quarterly or annually because the essence of the economy is for businesses to do better.

“So, for everything we are doing, we are cautious because businesses propel tax generation,  collection, and growth in the economy, and if businesses are redundant, tax generation would be redundant,” he said.

He also said that with the system put in place by the state government, the tax was no longer cumbersome, adding that the state had one of the most efficient tax payment systems in the country.

“Our tax is easy, and you also have the opportunity to negotiate how you want to pay,  either once, quarterly, twice or monthly.

“Even in the informal sector, where they pay N21,000 annually, they have the choice of how they want to pay.

“We allowed this because our environment is known for businesses, and as such, we encourage businesses to thrive,” he said.

(NAN)