Multiple Taxation: Cattle dealers seeks govt intervention on illegal revenue collectors

AMALGAMATED Union Food Stuff and Cattle Dealers on Sunday decried what it described as multiple taxation imposed on them by revenue collection bodies on the Federal highway.

This is just as the union gave the government 21-day-ultimatum to address the issue, adding that they will take a serious action to help their members.

According to the National President of the Union, Alhaji Muhammadu Tahir “the Inspector General of Police with support of other security personnel have sent a signal to all police Commissioners that all roadblocks and illegal collections of multiple taxation on federal highways.”

He urged that such illegal activities and Illegal acts must be stopped even as he stated that the administration of the national body of the union have made several efforts to stop multiple taxation at various places.

The president said most important is the issue of veterinary control post which the Ministry of Agriculture is proposing to locate in various areas of the country. He further reminded the union on the progress of transportation of their agricultural products by rail, adding that the negotiations had gone far with the union, especially from North- East Zone and Zamfara State

Meanwhile, an invited guest, Hajiya Habiba, revealed that the Chinese government have available a credit line of $60billion to assist the programmes of the union at zero interest rates.Adding that members can access the credits through various Cooperatives.

Hajiya Habiba said “the Credit is one of 4 grants given by the Chinese government.of which agriculture is a beneficiary. She assured that the grant is reaching out to 20 markets from 10 states to teach beneficiaries on how to operate safe products in markets without running the risks of mycotoxins.

In an interview with the General Secretary of the Union Ahammed Allahramma said that the illegal tax collectors charges about N250,000  per truck load of cattle from Maiduguri to Port Harcourt.

“It has been long our members have been suffering from this multiple taxation, if you carry cow from Maiduguri or Adamawa, before you reach Port Harcourt, in a truck you are going to spend about N250,000 just because of multiple taxation, this taxation is not vehicle taxation or animal taxation, but it is an illegal money collected illegally from our members”, he added.

He said that their members meet gang of young men as early as 2am in the morning with weapons extorting money from them in form of tax. He also added that each truck pays as much as N12,000 to N20,000 per stop.

He therefore said that the tax collectors operate illegally, adding that if government does not address the issue within 21 days, the association will take serious action against the multiple taxation.

“If government didn’t take action, actually we are going to take action against this illegality because we are all Nigerians, we agree to pay revenue but in a legal way at the point of loading and at the point of offloading, which is where law allows us to pay revenue,” he noted.