Business
THE Abakaliki Rice Mill Company and Amalgamated Union and Cattle Dealers Association of Nigeria, Ebonyi Chapter, have jointly decried what they described as multiple taxation by revenue agents on federal highways across the federation.
Mr Samuel Ogodo, the Caretaker Chairman of the company, and Alhaji Ibrahim Umaru, the Vice Chairman of the association, made the remark in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeia (NAN) in Abakiliki on Thursday.
They urged the Federal Government to carryout urgent investigation into the development, saying that it was affecting their operations.
Ogodo also said that the development was frustrating governments’ efforts in the agricultural sector.
He explained that marketers were being made to pay taxes to different government’s tax agents on federal highways in the country.
He listed the taxes payable their members to include vehicle permit, produce payment and local governments payments, among various others.
According to him, “normally, every payment made at the point of purchase, which should include levies, should be sacrosanct until the goods get delivered.
“But, in this case, it is different because someone could pay up to N500,000 as tax before getting to their destination.
“The amount paid as tax could at times be more than the cost of transportation.
“The problem is not particularly on rice dealers alone but cattle and other produce dealers also suffer it too.
“Federal Government should call these revenue collectors and the states to order because the taxes have compounded our plight,’’ Ogodo said.
He lauded the ban on the importation of foreign rice by the federal government, saying that the policy would encourage local rice farmers to produce more.
He also thanked Gov. David Umahi for repositioning the mill to serve consumers within and outside the state better.
Also, Umaru attributed the rising cost of cattle in the country to multiple taxation on the highways, saying that the phenomenon was more evident in Adamawa, Taraba, Benue and Cross River states.
“A trailer load of cattle is charged over N300,000 tax, while a 911 truck loaded with cattle is charged over N170,000 between Adamawa and Cross River states.
“These charges, which include payments for produce, heavy duty and haulage, safety and security checks, among other charges, are what we experience daily.
“We are not fighting federal government over statutory tax but want them to check the duplication of taxes,’’ Umaru said.
He called on federal government to intervene by ensuring that statutory charges were outlined and that only appropriate authorities in charge were on ground to collect them.
Mr Umaru Adamawa, a driver at Garki Cattle Market, Abakaliki, described the expenses on the highways, arising from the activities of revenue agents, as outrageous.
Adamawa alleged that the agents were collaborating with some security agencies to extort money from them.
He said that they were usually manhandled by the revenue operators in their efforts to extort money from them on the high ways.
“It is even worse when one no longer has enough money to settle them.
“The person will be thoroughly beaten up and humiliated,” he said, adding that he was once a victim. (NAN)
– Oct 10, 2019 @ 17:45 GMT |
Tags: cattle dealers decry multiple taxation in Ebonyi Rice mill operators
