Kaduna Assembly Committee Clerk emphasises importance of Gender-responsive Tax System

Uangbaoje Alex, Kaduna

The Clerk, Kaduna State House of Assembly Committee on Budget and Planning, Mrs. Larai Gwani, has emphasized the need to have a tax system that is gender responsive in the State.

The Clerk who stated this on Wednesday in Kaduna at the opening of a 2-day policy dialogue series on Tax Administration and Gender-Blind Tax Systems on Women’s Business Development in Kaduna State, noted that tax compliance is very important to the development of any Nation.

The policy dialogue was organised by the Tax Justice and Governance Platform (TJ&GP), Kaduna State chapter, with support from Christian Aid Nigeria.

“As we all know, the role of the Assembly is to make laws that will develop the state and improve the lives of the citizens. But most importantly, for development to take place, there’s a need for everyone involved to be included in the lawmaking process.

“And us in Kaduna State House of Assembly, we are mandated to make such laws. Tax is very important because there are economies that runs solely on taxes and we can leverage on what they are doing in Kaduna State.

“Having a gender-responsive tax system is most important because it involves everyone on the table and it gives everyone the chance to be able to say, something and also contribute to the development.” Mrs. Gwani, said.

The Director, Personal Income Tax/Revenue Operations, Kaduna State Internal Revenue Services (KADIRS), Asma’u Inuwa, while appealing to the public and business communities to always comply to tax payment, noted that government cannot run efficiently without having funds, which is higher depends on taxes.

“And we all know that this fund is generated by collecting taxes from the citizens. Our main aim is to generate and collect taxes so that the government can deliver on its promises, so I’m appealing that this is a very crucial discussion.” She added.

On his part, Simeon Olatunde, said the dialogue was aimed to facilitate discussions on the impact of gender-blind tax systems on marginalized groups and taxpayers in the informal sector, especially women-led businesses.

According to him, the meeting also meant to highlight key findings and recommendations from the report of a survey on gender barriers to taxation in Kaduna State to inform gender-responsive policies and launch the gender analysis report in the State.

“Disseminate the printed copies of the report to target audiences for wider accessibility and impact

“Draw actionable commitments from policymakers towards the inclusion of gender-centered designs in tax policies and administration to promote transparency, accountability, and equity through tax-for-service agreements in Kaduna state.” Olatunde added.