The Bayelsa Security and Anti-Touting Revenue Task Force on Tuesday announced the arrest of two illegal revenue agents for collecting unauthorised levies in the state.

Mr Seiyefa Uzaka, Spokesman of the Task Force said in Yenagoa that the State Government has streamlined the revenue collection system and outlawed collection unauthorized levies.

It will be recalled that the 13 member task force comprising representative of relevant ministries, security agencies was inaugurated in April 2016 by Gov Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa.

Dickson had charged the task force to raise the Internally Generated Revenue Profile of Bayelsa from N600 million to N 2 billion monthly.

Uzaka said that under the new scheme, all revenues and taxes were to be collected by the Board of Internal Revenue (BIR) while other agencies of government that hitherto collected revenue have been directed to stop forthwith.

He said that the task force in a bid to sanitised the revenue collection in the state has abolished multiple taxes and was conducting surveillance to enforce the new policy by arresting defaulters.

Uzaka said that the task force apprehended the illegal revenue collectors selling unauthorized stickers to commercial vehicles entering the state at the East-West road.

He said that the Chairman and Secretary of the task force, Messr Reuben Lugard and Amaduobugha Owei had presented the arrested suspects to Chairman of Bayelsa BIR before handing them over to Police.

Uzaka noted that the reforms in the revenue collection system will ensure voluntary compliance by tax payers rather than use of coercion which scares aware investors adding that all leakages have been blocked.

•Photo shows Governor Seriake Dickson.

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