Lagos Declares War On Illegal Tax Collectors, Touts

The Lagos State government has vowed to go after touts who collect illegal fees from Lagosians under the guise that they are working for certain local governments.

The government said illegal tax collection by touts in the state was no longer tolerable as the government was ready to send anyone collecting tax illegally from Lagosians to jail.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Taxation and Revenue, Mr. Adeola Ipaye, who gave this warning at an enlightenment seminar organised for key stakeholders in the informal sector in Lagos, southwest Nigeria, added that blocking of roads for social functions was no longer acceptable.

Ipaye lamented the activities of the touts and fraudulent tax officers which is, why some residents have accused the state government of multiple taxation.

“It is illegal and unconstitutional for any official, agent or other person to mount road blocks, permit blockage or closure of any street or road. It is wrong to pay tax officers in cash. Tax payers are expected to pay to the designated banks. All these contravene the standard practice of the state government.

“Sometimes, no person sends these touts out. Sometimes, the touts act as agents of local government. In Lagos, we do not want to use any crude method to collect levies and taxes. The administration of Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) is averse to this practice. There must be a law regulating tax collection,” he said.

Ipaye called on Lagosians to report cases of illegal tax collection to the government for appropriate action, adding that the state government “does not have a separate tax law.”

He listed levies, rates and taxes collectable by the local government to include shops and kiosks rate, approved open market levy, tenement rates (only where applicable), licensing fee for sale of liquor, slaughter slab license fee, street naming registration fee, motor park levy, domestic animal license fee and wharf landing fee.

Others include marriage, birth and death registration fees, parking fees on local government streets, license fees for bicycles, trucks, canoes, wheelbarrows and chart, radio and television license fee, public convenience, sewage and refuse disposal fees, cemetery and burial ground permit fee and permit for private entertainment.