By Hafsat Bello Bahara
Advocacy groups, including the Tax Justice and Governance Platform, Christian Aid, Tin T-FollowTaxes and the International Budget Partnership, are calling for gender-responsive taxation policies in Kano State.
The appeal was made during a policy dialogue aimed at improving the implementation of harmonization laws to boost internally generated revenue.
The dialogue, which brought together state and non-state actors, featured participants from civil society organizations (CSOs), budget partners, business owners, and officials from relevant ministries, including the Kano State Internal Revenue Service.
The stakeholders discussed a gender perspective analysis of the informal sector tax policy, presented by the event organizers, which highlighted disparities in how taxation impacts men and women.
Sadiq Muhammad Mustapha, Program Lead of the Tax Justice Initiative, stressed the need for better tax harmonization in the state.
“Kano, being the commercial hub of Northern Nigeria, has the capacity to be one of the top five states in revenue generation, but sadly that isn’t the case,” Mustapha said. “We have fallen short all due to the lack of proper harmonization.”
Abdulmumin Ajumawa, Director of Development, Support, and Coordination at the Ministry of Budget and Planning, lauded the advocacy efforts. He expressed optimism that the initiative would help improve policies to better address the needs of women business owners.
“Women are actively involved in a lot of businesses, so we welcome this advocacy as it will aid us to reposition our policies and frameworks to ensure equity in taxation,” Ajumawa said.
The Kano State Internal Revenue Service pledged continued support and collaboration with the Tax Justice Network and other partners to strengthen revenue generation. Discussions also covered tax collection procedures, mechanisms for addressing grievances, and the challenges of tax harmonization and codification.
Stakeholders recommended more sensitization efforts on tax education and emphasized the importance of implementing gender-responsive taxation. They also highlighted the need to effectively capture the informal sector to increase the state’s revenue base.