Revenue Leakage: Group Demands Dedicated Account for Harmonized Tax Payment

By Praise Chinecherem

Civil Rights Concerns (CRC) has expressed concerns over increasing gaps in harmonization of tax payment, resulting to leakages in revenue generation in Anambra state.

Executive Director, Okey Onyeka raised the concerns on Tuesday in Awka during the group’s 2025 quarter budget review and how it merges with 2024 financial report.

The engagement was themed, “Strengthening fiscal justice for gender equality and tax accountability: ensuring that public resource are raised and spent responsibly, transparently and equitably in Anambra.”

Onyeka stressed the need for government to establish a dedicated account for harmonized payment to ensure all payments get into government cofers.

According to him, such arrangements would not only reduce leakages, but eliminate multiple taxations.

“There’s a committee set up by government for this tax payment harmonization for revenue generation.

“A situation where local and state government collect taxes is not healthy. This committee must find ways of resolving this multiple taxation challenge,” he added.

Onyeka explained that the engagement was aimed at reviewing the performance of Anambra State Quarter 1 to 2 financial reports and how it aligns with the 2024 programmes deliveries.

“Today’s activity is targeted at building understanding with key stakeholders to engage for improved implementation of services in key basic sectors in the remaining quarter of the year

“Again, we’re here to identify areas that duty bearers should prioritise and include in the 2026 budget being prepared.

The ED further underscored the need for tax payers to take their civic duty of payment of taxes seriously while they demand for services from government.

“It’s a corresponding obligations. Citizens must ensure they pay their taxes as at when do and government should not be angry when citizens demand for services,” he added.

Participants drawn from grassroots including farmers, traders, artisans, CSOs, PWDs, among others brainstormed on various government interventions, namely budget programmes and areas of priorities, health, education, agriculture and others.

In education, participants called for project monitoring and teachers’ motivation to ensure quality standards were maintained.

In health sector, stakeholders raised concerned about high cost of drugs, just as they called for training of health workers to ensure they were more friendly with their clients.