Governor of Ebonyi State, Francis Nwifuru, has cautioned revenue collectors against indiscriminate taxing of the less privileged persons selling their farm produce in local markets. He charged them to go for big time property owners and business moguls.
Nwifuru gave the charge yesterday at the swearing in of the chairman and members of the Revenue Appeal Commission in his office at Ochoudo Centenary City, Abakaliki.
He said, “I have told the Revenue Service, I don’t want you to go to the village markets and be taxing vegetable sellers, I have said it times without number.
“It is a big challenge to us because it is not showing the electorate that they have a government.
“I don’t see reasons why we should be taxing people who are selling what they got from their farms, leaving those who have benefitted from the government and have investments that ought to be paying revenue to the state.”
He said the state government will soon put in place enabling laws to checkmate clandestine activities of scrap dealers in the state.
Governor Nwifuru expressed regret that residents of the state have incurred huge economic losses owing to criminal activities of some of the scrap dealers adding that the state cannot continue to fold its arms and watch the criminals’ cash in on the hard earnings of citizens.
“There is no uncompleted building in this city that they have not stolen the wires, everything, they are now deroofing houses because they are looking for aluminum and they are not even paying taxes,” he said.
Governor Nwifuru called on the chairman and members of the Revenue Service and Appeal Commission to go about their duties with human face to improve the internally generated revenue of the state and not step on the toes of the people.
“I don’t want shouting, I don’t want closing people’s shops, you have to look at the people’s shops and tax them based on what they have, everything is all about negotiations,” he said.
The governor also warned people against indiscriminate siting of markets in areas not approved for such activities by government saying such ventures are bound to give way for government development plans.
“There is no city that everywhere can be market, if it is not a plaza or shopping mall, you cannot open shops along the road,” he said.
Responding, the chairman, Mr Augustine Nwankwegu thanked the governor for finding them worthy to serve and assured that they would work hard to improve the revenue status of the state and increase ease of doing business.
