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Lagos State
yesterday escaped sanctions at the end of the 123rd meeting of tax
administrators in the country for non-adherence to laws guiding tax
administration in the country. Organised under the auspices of the Joint
Tax Board, the meeting also said the state’s understanding of
federalism was at variance with what is contained in the country’s
constitution.

However, while Lagos
escaped sanctions, the same cannot be said for the over 65,000
foreigners in the country whom the tax board has turned its search light
on, for tax related issues.

The tax board, which
is seeking to extend tax administration to foreigners said it has
already secured the names, addresses and locations of employers of this
group and is hoping to improve tax administration in the country.
Consequently, state governments across the federation are to be
furnished with information about immigrants domiciled within their
domain for appropriate action.

The joint tax board
which stressed the importance of collaboration and information sharing
among stakeholders, also reiterated its condemnation of all incidences
of multiple taxation in Nigeria and urged all tiers of government to
take steps towards its eradication.

The board’s
resolution is however viewed to be directed at LagosSstate giving the
increasing concerns by other states of the federation with the refusal
of the state to obey subsisting tax laws of the country,

particularly as it
affects the Tax and Levies (Approved list of collection) Act established
under the military era by decree no. 21 of 1998 , now an Act of the
National Assembly, which sets out a list of taxes and levies to be
collected by the federal government, state government, and local
governments councils respectively.

The Act, apart from
making illegal any tax or levy not included in the list, also prohibits
the use of road blocks for tax collections and enforcement.

The contention of
the Lagos State government is with the “legality” of the Taxes and
levies Act , a military era law which it insist is at variance with
relevant laws in the 1999 constitution. This position of the government
of the state, contained in a memo presented by Ade Ipaye, the special
Adviser to the state governor, says the “federal government no longer
had the competence to create tax agencies for states and local
government councils or to stipulate the taxes which might be collected”.

Differing interpretations

Another area of
looming conflict between the government of Lagos and the other states
was its position that the state does not have the “problem of multiple
taxation”. Mr. Ipaye said the state has paid close attention to the
“issue” and found that the major problem, especially at the local
government levels where they were most rampant, were of illegal levies
and fake tax collectors. He maintained that most of the allegations of
multiple taxation do not pay close attention to the distinction between
taxes, levies, penalties and user charges.

Ifueko Omogui, in
her contributions on the deliberations on whether to sanction Lagos
State, said the issue was wider than that. “It is not just about taxes,
it cuts across board and it is tied to Lagos State’s definition of its
understanding of federalism and not what the constitution says. I will
like to separate the two issues. Their own understanding of the way
federalism should work, regardless of what is written in the
constitution. That is where we come apart, it is not about Joint Tax
Board.”