Nigeria Content Online

The Lagos State
government has claimed that there is no multiple taxation in the state
and has urged that tax payers be enlightened to ensure they are not
unduly extorted by touts, in the name of taxes.

Governor Babatunde
Fashola said this at a forum organised by a group, Women In Management
and Business, held at the Lagos City Hall for chief executives of
corporations. The business executives lamented that indiscriminate
charges, poor infrastructural facilities in some areas in the state,
unemployment, multiple taxation, and harassment from state officials,
especially the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), among
others, are part of the challenges of doing business in Lagos State.
Participants alleged that multiple taxes, a situation where the same
income is subjected to more than one tax treatment; unauthorised and
unclear charges, is fast killing businesses in the country’s major
business district.

Government’s response

“There are no
instances of multiple taxes in Lagos,” said Mr Fashola. “There are
either legal or illegal fees or levies. Multiple taxes don’t exist in
Lagos. We have three levels of government in the country. There can be
multiple taxes only if all three levels of government are charging for
the same thing. Take for instance, taxes for operational results go to
the federal government, advertisement goes to the local government, and
taxes on employees go to the state. Every party have their own distinct
charges.”

Though the origin
of ‘multiple taxation’ is not clear, complaints as regards the menace
became more prominent and rampant in the 1980’s. Experts say the
declining rate of disbursable funds by the federal government might
have led the state and local governments to seek alternative sources of
internally generated revenue. Multiple taxes confront the manufacturers
and private sector under different umbrellas through import duties,
export and excise duties, sales and VAT, withholdings and income taxes,
mobile advertising and billboard levies, educational levies, social
responsibility charges among others, which the participants say is
telling on the state’s business environment.

Drawing the battle line

The governor said
that there are levies imposed on business men and women by touts, which
must be addressed by the individuals themselves, because the aim of the
state government is to maximise revenue without imposing a burden on
the people. Mr Fashola, who gave phone numbers to be called in an event
of unclear taxes, urged the business community in the state to take
their destiny in their own hands and address illegal levies. “Engage
that system more vigorously,” he said. “We have come up with the list
of things that can be taxed, which is available. We have also urged
officials to stop collecting cash, the instruction is that you pay into
the bank.”

Participants at the event urged the governor to create more
institutional structure to be able to engage in interactive sessions
regularly, where people are given the opportunities to factor in their
own opinions on the state policies before and during implementation.
“We need institutional structures where we would be able to factor in
our own perspective, as regards the state policies,” said Segun
Oshinowo, a participant at the event. “We shouldn’t have a situation
where the meal has been prepared and we are being forced to eat only to
discover that there isn’t salt in the middle or key ingredients are
missing.”