Citizens who don’t pay tax have no moral right to demand accountability – Edo IRS Boss

By Jethro Ibileke

The Chairman of Edo State Internal Revenue Service (EIRS), John Odior, has said that citizens who evade paying tax cannot credibly demand accountability from the government.

This is even as he stated that many Nigerians prefer to give financial gifts to general overseers and paying tithes over fulfilling their civic duty of paying taxes.

Odior who spoke on a radio programme in Benin City weekend, linked tax compliance directly to good governance and civic responsibility.

According to him, “If you are not paying taxes, you don’t have the moral ground to ask government questions).

He further noted that public infrastructure, salaries and services depend on revenue generated from taxes.

While stating he has nothing against religious giving, the IRS boss urged residents to put civic duty first.

“People prefer to give to ‘Daddy G.O.s’ and others rather than pay taxes. I am not against giving to Daddy G.O.s; what I am saying is that people should see tax as a priority,” he stated.

“Any money that moves from one place to another, we must first check if it carries tax elements. If the tax element is not removed, anywhere we see it, we must first remove it,” he added.

The EIRS chairman clarified tax exemptions under the law, churches, NGOs involved in humanitarian work, and citizens earning below the national minimum wage are exempt from corporate income tax.

He, however, said that pastors and other religious leaders must still pay personal income tax on salaries they earn.

“The salaries pastors collect, they are supposed to pay taxes on them,” Odior explained.

On offerings and tithes, Odior said: “If you say that you are exempt from paying tax on offerings and tithes, it is because the law views the offerings and tithes paid in church as having already suffered taxation at the individual level.”

He added that churches are still required to file annual tax returns with government.

Odior who disclosed that the Edo IRS has improved tax payment and clearance through digital innovations to make compliance easier, concluded with a direct appeal to residents: “Edo is shining…Your tax is working. Pay your taxes.”