INCOME TAX: Ogun Urges Compliance With Law

The government of Ogun State has urged its civil servants to comply fully with the Personal Income Tax Act (Cap P8 LFN 2004), which guides the administration of personal income tax throughout the country.

In a statement signed by Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Alhaji Yusuph Olaniyonu, the state government regretted the disparity in the application of Personal Income Tax Act (PITA), even to staff on the same salary scale, by the previous administration, saying that “laws are made to be obeyed.”

Olaniyonu stated that “Upon taking office, this administration found out that the taxes of the civil servants were indiscriminately applied. Depending on which unit you worked, the amount of tax you paid varied. For example, the state’s medical staff in the Hospital Management Board and those in the hospitals paid different amount of taxes even by staff on same salary scale.”

He explained that “the Act stipulates how taxes from employment and/or other income of individuals are computed and it should be uniformly applied across the nation. There should be no disparity in its application. What the government has done is follow the law and apply it accordingly. Staff can apply the law to determine their pay and where they establish excess deduction of taxes, the Board of Internal Revenue will refund.”

The state government commended the efforts of its workforce and union leaders and enjoined them to always be guided by the rule of law and due process.