Lagos State Government Plans To Expand Tax Net To Fund 2020 Budget
Written by Smooth FM on January 8, 2020
The Lagos State Government says it plans to increase its monthly Internally Generated Revenue to fund the 2020 budget.
The Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Sam Egube, said this on Tuesday at the state’s budget breakdown.
He disclosed that the total budget size of N1.17tn would be funded from a total revenue estimate of N1.07tn.
The estimate is made up of IGR of N886.04bn and federal transfer of N184.99bn.
A deficit of N97.53bn is to be financed from external loans of N34.5bn and domestic loans of N63bn.
In 2019, the state projected a total revenue of N775.23bn out of which N606.29bn was expected from internal generation, N168.94bn from federal transfers and N77.09bn from deficit financing.
Egube said a significant percentage of the projected TIGR of N500bn would be contributed by the Lagos Inland Revenue Service through expansion of tax net.
This, he said, would be achieved through the deployment of technology and other facilities to improve the efficiency in operations of all revenue generating agencies.
“We believe that there are huge revenue generating opportunities in the informal sector including real estate and transportation which Lagos State is known for,” the commissioner said.
Egube said the 2020 budget was a result of widely held consultations across the three senatorial districts in addition to feedback from stakeholders.
Giving a sectoral analysis of the budget, the commissioner said the education sector got the highest allocation of N136.1bn.
He said it was N70.41bn higher than that of the 2019 budget and would cater for the reconstruction of 300 schools; provision of furniture for both primary and secondary schools across the state and equipment for science laboratories.
SOURCE: The Punch
