SOS to Kuje Council boss

 I manage one of the shops along Gwagwalada road in Kuje Area Council.  I was baffled when a demand notice of levy on shop owners amounting to N36,000.00 (Thirty-six thousand Naira) was issued to me recently.  The breakdown is given as following: Sanitation levy: N24,000; Pest control levy: N5,000; License permit: N5,000; Outdoor advertisement: N2,000; […]

 I manage one of the shops along Gwagwalada road in Kuje Area Council.  I was baffled when a demand notice of levy on shop owners amounting to N36,000.00 (Thirty-six thousand Naira) was issued to me recently.  The breakdown is given as following: Sanitation levy: N24,000; Pest control levy: N5,000; License permit: N5,000; Outdoor advertisement: N2,000; totaling N36,000.00.

Last time I went to market to replenish my stock, I went with only N30,000.00.  If a trader’s capital is around N30,000.00 and the government is taxing him N36,000.00 it means the government is simply telling the trader to sell off his wares, submit all his capital as tax, then close down the business.  Similar levy was charged to another shop owner who sells about 10 bags of pure water and a few compact discs. When the man was handed a levy demand notice of N42,000, he became furious and tore the paper to shreds and threw them away.

We the shop owners are now left simmering in anger.  Kuje Area Council should not push us into doing something nasty.  After distributing the demand notices, announcement was made that any trader who fails to pay within two weeks, his or her shop will be sealed.  What is the import of this?  The hapless traders are now earning their livelihood through legal means.  If the government shuts their businesses down, what other choice do they have than to try to survive by illegal means?

Shutting down businesses will be counterproductive as it may aggravate the present wave of crime such as petty stealing, prostitution, broad day robbery and in recent times, kidnappings.  One of the qualities of a good taxing system is that the amount should be something the tax payer can afford.  Hence tax is supposed to be a little fraction of a trader’s profit.

In advanced democracies, if the economy is in recession the government does not compound the hardship by taxing the poor.  Rather, the government taxes the rich. Kuje council boss should please, take this missive as a voice for the voiceless, and go back to the drawing board.  May be they can think of other reasonable ways of sourcing for funds. 

The economy is down and all of us know it.  The people hardest hit are the owners of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs); because most of them can hardly afford to feed well.  Under the current hardship, owners of SMEs deserve tax holidays.  If they must pay levy, it should not exceed N2,000 (two thousand Naira) annually.

It should please be noted that those small traders make little profit.  Yet they are faced with overhead costs such as shop rent, electricity bill, the present high cost of transportation, and many other costs.

Andy Laulau, Pasali, Kuje, Abuja.