A group of revenue consultants has condemned activities of the Joint Tax Board (JTB) over multiple taxation.
This was contained in letter to Executive Secretary of JTB by the legal adviser of the revenue consultants.
According to the consultants, JTB contravened the Acts that set it up. The statutory responsibility of JTB as envisaged by its enabling Acts are to harmonise relevant taxes between the constitutional established tiers of government with the rights/powers to collect enumerated and approved taxes. Any encroachment, wilfully or ignorantly made by JTB outside its lawful function of ensuring harmony is a gross misconduct.
The legal adviser, Mr Nwaogbo Ikedinachi, said the consultants would fight the greedy and illegal intent of JTB to centralise revenue collectable by states and local governments when Nigeria is not a unitary but a federal republic.
Ikedinachi noted that this is illegality and creates a fertile ground for double/multiple taxation, which is against the ease of doing business.
Mr Ikedinachi said, the revenue consultants’ attention were drawn to the JTB’s purported implementation of the Single inter-State Road Tax Sticker (SIRTS) and Single Haulage Fee (SHF) project which, commenced on 27th of September, 2022 at JTB Secretariat in Abuja, where JTB held a training session for prospective vendors and other publications of the day, including, but not limited to the issue of JTB involving financial banks with the intention for proceeds of tax to be remitted to certain accounts established in JTB’s interest.
Declaring the collective views and submissions of the revenue consultants, Mr Ikedinachi said, ” After taking cognisance of the existing laws regulating taxes and levies-creation of taxes, harmonisation of taxes and administration of taxes. It is our stand backed by the unimpeachable statutory authorities to state that the JTB has no legal backing or latent to engage in this project”
The Revenue Consultants include: Forum of Mobile Advert Practitioners of Nigeria, Association of Advancement of Motorists Rights and Safety of Nigeria, Mobile Advert Collectors of Nigeria, Emblem Dealers Association of Nigeria, Atovan Agency of Nigeria, RAIDY2K Nig Limited and National Union of Vehicle Advertisement Senior Employers of Nigeria.