TIRS Flags Off Tax Enumeration, Promises Transparency, Fiscal Discipline

The Chairman of the Taraba State Internal Revenue Service (TIRS), Brigadier General Jeremiah Aliyu Faransa (rtd), has declared the commencement of the statewide tax enumeration exercise a turning point in the effort to rebuild the state's revenue architecture and enforce fiscal discipline.

 

Speaking at the flag-off, Faransa said the administration of Governor Agbu Kefas is no longer interested in cosmetic reforms but structural changes that promote transparency, accountability and inclusion. He stated that the present TIRS bears no resemblance to the system inherited from the past, insisting that revenue mobilisation now rests on sacrifice, professionalism and collective responsibility.

 

Faransa stressed that taxation remains the backbone of development and warned that no state can function sustainably without an accurate database of its taxpayers.

 

He commended National Youth Service Corps members deployed for the exercise, urging them to be firm but diplomatic, and called on security agencies to provide full protection for enumerators in all communities.

 

The exercise is being carried out in partnership with i4cus Nigeria Limited. The Managing Director of the firm, Mrs. Joy Abama, said the collaboration is designed to support Taraba State through TIRS in building a transparent, technology-driven revenue system capable of driving long-term economic growth.

 

According to her, the enumeration will eliminate guesswork in revenue collection by creating a reliable taxpayer database, strengthening compliance and restoring public confidence in the system.

 

The President of the Artisans Association, Gabriel Wilson, said the exercise reflects a new level of cooperation between the state government and revenue authorities. He praised the administration for engaging artisans directly and responding promptly to their concerns.

 

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Technical Workforce, Strategic Development and Productivity, Danjuma Musa Goyo, said Taraba State has reached a critical development threshold. He disclosed that the government has already identified over 500 members of the workforce across the state and urged residents to support the exercise in the interest of collective progress.

 

Providing a revenue snapshot, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Community Engagement, David Enoch Usman, disclosed that monthly internally generated revenue has increased from about ₦600 million to over ₦2 billion since Faransa assumed office. He attributed the growth to reforms, enforcement and the digitalisation of revenue processes.

 

The Chairman of the Traders Association, Gamani Adamu Abbare, alongside market women leaders, pledged the full support of traders for the administration's development agenda and called on members to cooperate with enumerators.

 

The Chairman of the Taraba State Environmental Sanitation Agency, Iliya Kefas, assured traders that the government will continue to maintain clean and orderly markets to support business activities.

 

The tax enumeration exercise is anchored on the new tax reform law of the Taraba State Government, aimed at identifying taxpayers, strengthening data management, blocking leakages and expanding the state's capacity to deliver public services.