Group urged EFCC, ICPC to probe state govts using private firms to collect tax 

THE Centre for the Vulnerable and the Underprivileged (CENTREP) has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to investigate state governments employing tax consultants to collect taxes and levies from citizens of their states.

National coordinator of CENTREP, Mr Oghenejabor Ikimi made the call in a statement made available to journalists on Tuesday in Warri, Delta State.

He said the use of private tax consultants or firms to collect taxes or levies from citizens was unlawful and forbidden by Law, much more as most of the private tax consultants and private individuals often engaged are close associates, party chieftains and relations of state governors.

According to him, only the states’ Board of Internal Revenue is saddled with the responsibility of assessing or collecting taxes and levies in states.

He described as dubious and illegal such practices and contrary to Section 3 of the Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Act, 2004 and the Schedule to the Taxes and Levies (Approved List for collection) Act (Amendment) Order, 2015.

“We make bold to say that under Section 3 of the Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Act, 2004 and the Schedule to the Taxes and Levies (Approved List for collection) Act (Amendment) Order, 2015 private tax consultants or private individuals are forbidden from assessing or collecting taxes and levies as the above statute imposes a fine of N50, 000.00 (Fifty thousand naira) or three years imprisonment or both for erring persons.

Furthermore, Section 2(1) of the Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Act, 2004 and the Schedule to the Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Act (Amendment) Order, 2015 specifically prohibits the assessment or collection of taxes or levies on behalf of the government by persons other than the appropriate tax authority which is defined in Section 4 of the above statute to be in respect of a State, the State Board of Internal Revenue, Government Department or any other Government body charged with the responsibility for assessing and collecting the particular tax.

We are therefore not oblivious of the fact that most of the private tax consultants engaged by State Governors to assess or collect a particular tax or levy in a State are paid as much as 40 per cent of the internally generated revenue collected by them per month as commission while 60 percent is remitted to the coffers of the State Government.

Thus the total annual sum that are deliberately lost to these private tax consultants by State Government are enormous to the detriment of their Citizens,” Ikimi argued.

He commended Governor Godwin Obaseki and Governor Willie Obiano of Edo and Anambra states for eschewing such criminal practices while admonishing it her governors to follow suit and use monies accruable therein to pay backlog of salaries owed workers and pensioners in their respective states.