Judex Okoro, Calabar
Cross River State Government has reviewed its 2020 budget due to the impact of COVID-19.
Commissioner for Finance, Asuquo Ekpenyong, who disclosed this to newsmen in Calabar yesterday, said the revised budget sent to the House of Assembly for approval is N147,130,166,966.00 as against the earlier estimates of N1,100,168,507,687.94.
Ekpenyong said: “Cross River government has reviewed the 2020 budget with inputs from stakeholders and the amended budget figure of N147,130,166,966.00 has been submitted to the Assembly.
“We took into consideration the downward revenues, statutory allocation and the increase in non-primary capital expenditure, particularly the COVID-19 intervention which will gulp 16.3 percent of the new estimates.”
He said as part of the COVID-19 relief, government will expand tax exemption to a wide segment of the state to boost the economy, warning that it is a criminal offence for any one to go against government policy.
“There is a human angle as well as an economic angle to this policy. The logic is to abate the suffering and hardship, occasioned by the pandemic to ensure businesses have a disposable income.
“If anyone is given an assessment when he has been exempted, the attention of government should be drawn to this and such would be treated as a robbery and crime,” he said.
Also, Internal Revenue Service Chairman, Akpanke Ogar, said individuals in the public sector earning below N100,000 monthly are eligible for tax exemption under the PAYE scheme.
Others include self-employed persons, taxi drivers, artisans, restaurants and others under the presumptive tax regime.
Calabar Chamber of Commerce, Mines and Industry Chairman, Eta Ndoma Egba, said the tax policy is a step in the right direction.