The Chairman, Senate Committee on the FCT, Smart Adeyemi, has identified absence of statutory internal revenue agency as responsible for the poor development of infrastructure in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Adeyemi stated this in Abuja on Monday at the public hearing on Bills for Acts to Establish FCT Board of Internal Revenue Service (BIRS) and FCT Property Tax. The Senate on July 17, 2012, referred the two bills to the FCT Committee for further legislative action after passing second reading.
He said that the FCT lacked adequate revenue making it difficult for the Federal Capital Development Administration to provide the needed facilities for the increasing population in the city.
The senator observed that the dwindling budgetary allocation and irregular release of funds made it imperative for Acts to establish the FCT (BIRS) and for the imposition of FCT Property Tax.
According to him, the FCT (BIRS) will harmonise all revenue collections and monitoring as well as minimise revenue leakages. “The dwindling allocations received from the Federation Accounts, which is grossly inadequate, may hinder the aspirations of making the Federal Capital City one of the first class cities in the world.
“This calls for the establishment of FCT (BIRS), imposition and administration of property tax to harness the abundant revenue sources which are not collected in the FCT,?? he said.
