The Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service says it has stopped the collection of cash from eligible tax payers and advised traders to pay their tax through the banks.

The Executive Chairman of the Service, Alhaji Muktar Ahmed told a sensitisation meeting with officials of Angwan Rimi Market Traders Association on Friday in Kaduna thatthe traders should shun anyone demanding physical cash from them as tax, adding that the advice was to protect the traders from fraudulent staff and block areas of tax leakages.

According to him, some individuals had taken advantage of the ignorance of unsuspecting traders on the provisions of the new state tax law to defraud tax payers.

He said: “It has come to our notice that some people are going round the markets claiming to be government officials and are busy collecting money from traders as tax.

“As traders, they do not have time to go to the bank, so the criminals claimed to make it easier for them, saying they would help them make the payment in the bank.

“But our new tax law has prohibited any form of cash collection and the traders need to know this.

“That is why we are going round all our markets to sensitise traders on the channels of making tax payments as prescribed in the law, namely the banks, and Point of Sale (POS) or via the internet.

“We are equally asking the traders in their own interest, not to pay any money to anybody as tax.

“In as much as we want every trader to pay his tax, we have a duty to protect their interest.”

Ahmed said that the service would continue to interact with tax payers until every tax payer got acquainted with the state tax law.

Also speaking, Malam Abdullahi Isa, Head of the Ungwan Rimi Market, commended the enlightenment initiative on the newtax law.

Isa described the visit as an eye opener in view of the apparent ignorance among the traders about the provisions of the tax law.

He gave assurance that all traders would follow prescribed procedures in paying their regular tax.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the state government had in March 2016 enacted a new tax law that bannedphysical cash collection in a bid to block leakages in revenue generation. (NAN)