Ease of Doing Business: Gov Mbah Ends Multiple Taxation in Enugu State

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Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, Tuesday, February 5, 2025, signed into law a Bill to improve the Ease of Doing Business by creating one window for tax collection and administration in Enugu State and end multiple taxation.

Titled the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (Establishment and Consolidation of Revenue Administration) Law, 2025, the new legislation makes the revenue collection agency autonomous and free of bureaucratic encumbrances.

Speaking at the Bill signing ceremony at Government House, Enugu, Mbah said the law ends multiple taxation in the State immediately.

“I recall several times that I have engaged the business community, the organised private sector, and the market women, they have always complained about multiple taxation. People coming from everywhere with different types of government receipts to ask them to pay tax. That will end from today.

“With the signing of this bill into law, we now have one revenue collection point, whether for the market women, the organised private sector, and the different agencies of government. You would have one clear point where to pay your tax and you will be issued with the appropriate receipt of payment. That means you no longer have any other person coming for the collection of tax.

“It is very important because one of the core indicators of the Ease of Doing Business is to make sure that you have the ease of payment of your taxes, and you do not have multiple channels where you are being dragged to pay taxes.”

Mbah explained further: “The idea is that you have one point of collection, but the split is also done to the different tiers of government that this revenue is essentially due to.

“It is also important that we make this point very clear that this idea of the State Internal Revenue Service collecting on behalf of the other tiers of government is nothing new. As some of you already know, the Land Use Charge is paid to the local government but collected by the state. So, what we are doing now is essentially consolidate all the other revenue types to ensure that there is one point of collection. So, this is a major milestone, and it would also help us have a full line of sight to all the revenues we have in the state.”

In addition, the state revenue agency has been granted autonomy by the law.

“The Enugu State Inland Revenue Service is now able to act as an autonomous institution of the state government. It also means that they can now set targets and try to meet those targets the same way you run a business. It means that they now have the powers to hire and fire their employees. So, we are increasingly making the Revenue Service a professional body.”

He affirmed that there is no increase in tax rates in the State.

“Let me be clear, we have not increased any tax in Enugu State. What we have essentially done, and which is impacting our revenue growth is expansion of the tax net. We have also made sure that monies that were collected in cash before now are now adequately captured and paid into the state coffers.”

He commended the Enugu State House of Assembly for the expeditiousness with which they treat executive bills.

Earlier in his remark, Hon. Uchenna Ugwu, Speaker of Enugu State House of Assembly, said the bill would improve business in the state.

“One, it is going to improve the Ease of Doing Business. It is also going to improve the IGR of the state and also block all the loopholes in revenue collection and administration. It is a very good gift to the people of Enugu State.”

Mbah has set a high target of raising the GDP of the state from $4.4 billion to ₦30 billion through massive improvement in ease of doing business.

“We talked about making sure that we achieve a zero percent rate in our poverty headcount index. We talked about making Enugu State the preferred destination for investment, business, tourism, and living.”

He set his eyes on the private sector as the drivers of business and investment.

“We also know that the growth level we are talking about cannot come from the public sector alone. This growth will happen through constructive investment, and that will come largely from the private sector.

“But we are going to provide the key enablers to attract businesses because businesses are not Father Christmas. They are interested in returns on investment.”

Multiple taxation had been the major complaint of the private sector in the state. It is left to be seen how far this law would address their problems.