Mr Edwin Okon, the Chairman, Cross River Internal Revenue Service (CRIRS), has urged residents of the state to embrace the new tax law, describing it as “fair and people-focused”
Okon said at an interaction with journalists in Calabar on Monday that the tax reform would reduce multiple taxation.
He said that the new tax law aimed to ensure that those who earned more contributed more, while low-income earners paid little or nothing.
“Under the new tax system, workers with taxable income of N800,000 or below are exempted from personal income tax.
“Employers who continue deducting taxes from low-paid workers are violating the law and should be reported to tax authorities.
“Luxury vehicle owners will be classified as high net-worth individuals and required to pay higher taxes due to their spending capacity,” he said.
Okon said that tax revenue was critical to the implementation of government projects, saying, “the new tax law targets to enthrone a better quality of life for the people”.
The CRIRS official dismissed claims in some quarters that banks would make 75 per cent deductions from depositors money.
He said that government was harmoni
sing taxes into nine categories nationwide to reduce confusion and eliminate illegal levies.
Okon further said that a new point-of-loading tax system for transporters would replace multiple road charges across the states.
He assured taxpayers of transparency, and that all payments would go directly into government accounts, instead of private hands.
