By Henry Ibya, Makurdi
The acting chairman of the Benue State Internal Revenue Service, BIRS, Emmanuel Agema, has described as political propaganda and cheap blackmail allegations in some quarters that companies were leaving the state because of high taxation by the service.
Agema who made the clarification while reacting to the allegation during a chat with journalists at his office in Makurdi, said the BIRS does not collect company tax, explaining that companies act as agents in the collection of Pay As You Earn, P.A.Y.E, which is deducted from the salaries of their workers at source and remitted to the service.
“Companies don’t pay tax to the state government, they pay to the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS. What the State Internal Revenue Service, BIRS, collects is Pay As You Earn, P.A.Y.E, from those working in companies”.
Agema further clarified that it is the responsibility of the companies to deduct and remit to BIRS the Personal Income Tax of its workers where they are domiciled.
The Acting Chairman BIRS explained that Pay As You Earn, P.A.Y.E, is a method of collecting personal income tax from employees’ salaries and wages through deduction at source by employers as provided by the relevant sections of Personal Income Tax Act, PITA, Sec.81 of Personal Income Tax Act Cap P8 LFN 2004, thereby arguing that companies that left the state might have done so for other reasons rather than on account of unfriendly tax conditions.
Agema who said the giant strides of the present administration has made payment of taxes much easier as Benue people including low income earners come willingly to pay taxes because of the confidence they have so far in the administration, advised companies that left the state for whatever reason to come back as government is creating a conducive environment for them to have smooth operations.