Zulaiha Danjuma

Effective tax collection is the lifeblood of any government seeking robust revenue growth. For Kano State, digital innovation has been integrated into its tax landscape through the development of digital public infrastructure (DPI). This DPI aims to improve tax revenue collection, compliance, and citizen engagement through digital solutions for all

KANO FOCUS reports, like many other Nigerian states, Kano has had its fair share of tax collection troubles. A notable reference point is the manual collection of taxes by tax office collectors from those under the informal sector category.

In 2021 to 2023, about 7.8 billion Naira was realized from 60,000 tricyclists paying a daily manual levy of 100 Naira to the then Kano State Road Traffic Agency (KAROTA) Management tax collectors. However, responsible government agencies could not account for these funds.

For Abba sani, a young cosmetics vendor, the manual tax collection system was a constant source of frustration. “I’m young, but I’ve never used any e-platform to pay taxes because I don’t know about it,” he admits, highlighting the difficulties faced by many informal taxpayers.

Hamisu Abba, a chicken seller in Kasuwar Sheka, shares Abba sani’s skepticism. “Even banks make errors with transfers, making you wait days to revert a payment. Why should I take the same risk with a tax payment that belongs to the government?” he asks, his brow furrowed with concern.

The incorporation of technology into the tax collection system, particularly for informal sectors, was taken up when the Kano State Internal Revenue Service (KIRS) started collecting daily levies from tricyclists using the Point of Sale (POS) machine in mid 2021. Despite the fact that this initiative did not last long for daily tax collection for tricyclists. This marked the beginning of Kano State’s digital tax revolution.

The Kano State Internal Revenue Service has developed two digital platforms, KIRMAS (Kano Integrated Revenue Management and Assurance System) and eeZitax, to facilitate tax payments. The KIRMAS was launched in the second quarter of 2024, while the eeZitax was launched and introduced on 2rd January of this year 2025.

These platforms enable taxpayers to register, generate invoices, and make payments online or through authorized agents.

KIRMAS has been said to be a more comprehensive system that covers various aspects of tax administration, including taxpayer registration, tax assessment, billing, payment, and reporting.

The KIRMAS which is a platform that supports the Central Billing System (CBS) has been able to standardize the billing process across all Ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) with the implementation of the Signal Central Revenue Account (SCRA) in Kano state. However, the platform has been flagged off by the KIRS to have some limitations

“The KIRMAS has a redundant database, this is a problematic issue that makes planning unachievable. The system is no longer for the current tax collection process” Isa Yakubu Yargaya, of the Revenue Accounting Department, said.

Mr. Yakubu explained that the Kano state Internal Revenue Service introduced eeZitax to address KIRMAS limitations.

“That was why eeZitax was introduced, it’s simpler to administer, users can understand it easily and data of taxpayers is secure and reliable” he added

According to Yakubu eeZitax have had commendable compliance level and reception from various corporate and other stakeholders

“The eeZitax platform has received overwhelmingly positive feedback, not only from taxpayers but also from banks and other stakeholders, thanks to the tireless efforts of the KIRS team” he stated

“We got so many compliance, roughly we can say the compliance level for the eeZitax is at 50%, there are huge numbers of tax payer registered on the platform, though I don’t have the explicit figure on hand right now, it’s huge” he said

The eeZitax, tax collection platform has been in active use now for two weeks and few days.

Despite the integration of technology in Kano’s tax payment system, including online payments, bank transfers, and invoice generation, the informal tax base has yet to benefit significantly from these digital advancements. Sadiq Muhammad Mustapha, Programme lead at the Tax Justice and Governance Platform (TJ & GP), identified low literacy levels among those in the informal sector as a major challenge.

Auwal Salisu, a textile seller in Kantin Kwari, echoes this concern. “Multiple tax collections, reliance on cumbersome hand-to-hand payments, and vulnerability to scams by impersonators posing as official tax collectors – these are the challenges we face daily.” Bello Muhammad, who sells at the Friday market in Wudil, adds, “We’re willing to pay taxes, but we need a system that’s transparent, efficient, and easy to use, most of use are not literate to use advanced systems like E-tax payment platform” he said

According to Mr. Sadiq, Oya state despite also having a large informal tax base as kano, have been able to capture peculiar concerns with that session of taxpayers by coming up with a USSD code (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) for tax payments

“Kano State can adopt this process to make it easier for informal taxpayers to deal with the issues of literacy levels and skepticism of digital tax payment platforms” he said.

However, Mr. Yakubu said the KIRS had used the USSD as a tax payment alternative for a time period spanning from 2023 to 2024.

“We used this USSD, the service is trying out a number of alternative methods of tax collection to see what suits best”

“When we rolled out the use of USSD codes we had a compliance level of 20% from the informal sector at the time” he said

To address these challenges, the Kano State Internal Revenue Service is conducting awareness campaigns and sensitization initiatives to educate taxpayers about the benefits and usage of these digital platforms. Mr. Yakubu emphasized the importance of these initiatives in promoting transparency and accountability in tax collection.

“The Kano State Internal Revenue Service is making all these reforms to make the payment process between taxpayers and the Kano state Government easy”

“This digitalization is to foster accountability and adequate revenue generation to help the government provide better public amenities to Kano state” he said.

According to Mr. Yakubu the service is also engaging and working adequately with Non-governmental Organizations to push sensitization and awareness about the benefits of digital tax payments and platforms. “We have massive sensitization outreach next week in some rural communities on this issue,” he said.

As Kano State continues to navigate the digital tax landscape, it’s essential to address the concerns of informal taxpayers. By simplifying the tax payment process, providing reliable e-tax payment options, and harmonizing taxes, the state can unlock robust revenue growth and improved citizen engagement.

The journey ahead will be long and challenging, but the potential rewards are significant. By leveraging digital public infrastructure, Kano State can create a more efficient, transparent, and inclusive tax system, ultimately improving the lives of its citizens.

This story is produced under the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Fellowship of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) and Co-Develop in partnership with Kano Focus Newspaper online.