Oyo State Government has commenced collection of taxes from informal sector of the economy across the state.
In this bid, Chairman, Oyo State Board of Internal Revenue, Mr Bicci Alli, led other revenue officers to major markets in Ibadan metropolis on Thursday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the exercise was part of government’s efforts at increasing its revenue base toward execution of more development projects in the state.
The state revenue board had earlier gone round to sensitize members of the informal sector, which comprise traders, market women and shop owners.
Alli said that the state had the largest members of informal sector with about three million people involved in trading on daily basis.
He said that revenue generated through the collection from this group would be added to the Internally Generated revenue for provision of more social services.
Alli said that about 300 revenue officers had been trained to collect revenue through the use of Point Of Sale (POS) machines at the various markets.
He also advised the traders to always ensure that they collected receipt at the point of payment, adding they were to pay N3,000 annually.
Mrs Feyisara Bayo-Azeez, the Iyaloja of Mokola Market, who had sensitized other market women, made her annual payment of N3,000 through the POS machine and was issued a receipt immediately.
She expressed the readiness to support the state government in its revenue drive, stressing that such would further strengthen government to provide more social services.
Pastor Samuel Orokunle, the Acting Chairman, Agbaje Market, said the traders had all agreed on the annual payment of N3, 000, which he said, was less than N10 per day.
He also expressed the readiness of Agbaje Market Traders to cooperate with the state government in its revenue drive.
Orokunle said that the traders were law abiding citizens and would be ready to comply with government’s directives.
He, however, pleaded with government to allow traders in Agbaje Market to commence full payment from Aug. 1.