By Ehigimetor Igbaugba, (NAN)

The Cross River Internal Revenue Service (CRIRS) says it has grown its monthly revenue collection from N1.9bn in May to about N2.97bn in October.

The CRIRS chairman, Mr Edwin Okon, made disclosed this in Calabar on Thursday during an interactive stakeholders’ session and training on best practices for tax consultants operating in Cross River.

Okon also used the occasion to announce plans by the government to introduce property tax in the state.

The chairman, who gave the projection of the state revenue service to raise N35bn as internal revenue in 2024, noted that the state could grow beyond the projection if all worked with a common purpose.

He attributed the steady rise in tax collection since he assumed office in June, to the cooperation of stakeholders and appealed for more to enable the government to have more resources at its disposal.

According to him, “We are the owners of this state and it’s only us that can help us to build the state.

“I am happy to report that our monthly revenue of N1.9bn in May grew steadily to N2.3bn in June, N2.4bn in July, N2.6bn in July and now to N2.97bn in October.

“We have also seen a remarkable improvement from the MDAs collection that have hovered around N3.8bn since 2012 to N6.8bn as a November 2023.

“We have our strategies on how we are following this, but it, however, comes with challenges.

“As for our N35bn internal revenue projection for 2024, we are looking more in the direction of the informal sector.”

On the challenges of multiple taxation, the CRIRS, while acknowledging the situation, called on the stakeholders to come up with a workable solution.

NAN reports that the state government had projected to spend N250bn as its capital and recurrent expenditure in 2024 fiscal year. (NAN)