By Sam Tyav, Makurdi
Chairman of Benue State Board of Internal Revenue Service (BIRS), Mr. Joseph Kwaghgba, has disclosed that the mandate of BIRS is not to fund agencies of government, but to generate money for the state through tax collection.
Speaking with some journalists in his office on Monday, the Chairman noted that the constitutional provision guiding the board’s operations does not allow it to spend money.
The BIRS boss explained that after collection of taxes, the agency remits same to government while the Ministry of Finance disburses the money to the appropriate agencies as provided for in the budget.
Kwaghgba called on agencies not to look up to BIRS for funds to carry out their assignments as the board does not have such mandate, adding that doing so would amount to going against the provision of the law.
The state’s chief tax collector urged agencies, particularly the state’s environmental sanitation agency (BENSESA) to take a better look at their mandate to enable them comply with its demands as provided in the law that established it, describing as laughable the situation where any agency looks up to BIRS for funding.
Speaking further, the Chairman explained that the tax agency had to intervene in a case involving Modern Market Makurdi, details of which he did not give.
Kwaghgba acknowledged that some agencies have challenges, but charged them to find possible solutions to address the issues as BIRS cannot directly help them out with funds.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Kwaghgba.
