Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna on Saturday said the state’s investment in its education and health sectors were already yielding the desired results.

Mr El-Rufai stated this in Kaduna at the First Edition of the State Internal Revenue Service Tax Dialogue with the theme, “Voluntary Tax Compliance: A Fundamental for Social Contract and Service Delivery”.

He said a significant amount of the state budget went to education and health every year, adding that the investment was already improving both sectors in the state.

The governor said that in 2015, only 22 per cent of the students of the state that sat for the West African Examination Council’s Senior School Certificate Examination (WAEC SSCE) made five credits, including mathematics and English language.

He disclosed that in 2021, the performance jumped to 76 per cent, adding that “This clearly shows that investment in the education sector is beginning to yield the desired results.

“Our investment in the health sector also shows a reduction in infant and maternal mortalities,” he said.

The governor said that the state was using taxpayers’ money to invest in the people and urged residents to imbibe voluntary tax compliance to enable the state to serve them better.

He said that the government was also investing in infrastructure and power supply to attract businesses to the state.

In his keynote address, Justice Benedict Kanyip, President of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, said that the governments required cash to fund development goals.

Mr Kanyip pointed out that the state’s elite, who should understand the concept of taxation as a social contract, were the ones resisting the payment of tax.

“The state is notorious for the elite’s refusal to pay tax, with 30,000 companies reported to have evaded tax in 2019.

“Also, a study on personal income tax gap conducted in 2018 showed that the amount people were paying as personal income tax in Kaduna, represented only 13.85 per cent of potential personal income tax payable in the state,” he said.

“We must understand that tax is a part of the society, which the residents must willingly embrace and not fight as tax is crucial to the process of development,” he said.

He said that the obligation of citizens on tax payment provided the rationale for tax enforcement and penal consequences for default.

(NAN)