BACKGROUND
The use of aggressive and unorthodox methods for collection of taxes such as harassment of innocent passers-by, gaining of forceful access into offices and shops, mounting of road blocks and throwing of spikes on coming vehicles etc. by the various government agencies and their proxies have been noted as one of the challenges of the Nigerian tax system. Taking judicial notice of this menace, especially as it involves officers of Local Governments in Nigeria, the Court of Appeal, per Dalhatu Adamu, J.C.A in Eti-Osa Local Government. V. Jegede (2007) 10 NWLR (Pt.1043) 537 had this to say: “In recent time, it has become a social menace to see the Local Government personnel or officers parading themselves on the highway or making a road block and harassing or embarrassing and intimidating bona fide passers-by and members of the public on account of their right or power to impose, collect or extort various taxes and levies some of which are apparently usurpatory and illegitimate. Even in the markets or other public places, the Local Government staff are a common sight extorting from the public, one form of tax or levy or another and blocking the public right of way on that account or ground. While legitimate imposition of taxes and levies is the source of funding of every tier of Government, the matter should not be allowed to degenerate into a desperate extortion, usurpation and illegitimate exploitation of the public by the said governments (of whatever tier or cadre). It should come to a stop.”
In this regard, paragraph 5.1(iii) of the National Tax Policy, 2016 which embodies the Nigerian government policy direction on taxation enjoins that “the President and Governors should work towards ensuring that there is only one revenue agency per level of government. This would streamline revenue administration and improve efficiency of revenue collection. Ministries, Extra-Ministerial Departments and Agencies other than tax authorities should not become tax collecting bodies.”
In fact, this menace was one of the reasons that accounted for the enactment of Decree No. 21 of 1998 by the then Federal Military Government. The Decree has now become the Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Act as amended (the Act). Section 2(1) of the Act provides that no person, other than the appropriate tax authority, shall assess or collect, on behalf of the Government, any tax or levy listed in the Schedule to the Act, and members of the Nigeria Police Force shall only be used in accordance with the provisions of the tax laws. By section 2(2) of the Act, no person, including a tax authority, shall mount a road block in any part of the Federation for the purpose of collecting any tax or levy. Consequently, section 3 of the Act makes it an offence punishable upon conviction with a fine of NGN50,000.00 or imprisonment for three years or both for any person to collect or levy any tax, or mounts a road block, or causes a road block to be mounted for the purpose of collecting any tax or levy, in contravention of section 2 of the Act,
IGP ORDERS ARREST OF ILLEGAL TAX COLLECTORS ON ROADS AND HIGHWAYS
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mr. Ibrahim Idris in line with the provisions of the extant law cited above recently ordered the immediate deployment of a special force team (Special X-Squad) to arrest illegal tax and revenue collectors on all federal roads in the country as well as to also ensure the removal of all forms of illegal blockage and obstructions on the roads. This directive took effect from Monday, 17th April, 2017. The special team was also under strict instruction to arrest, investigate and prosecute any person or group of persons found committing the illegal act.
TAKEAWAY
This directive is a step in the right direction and will go a long way in checkmating the activities of these illegal and overzealous tax collectors whose activities have left tales of woes in the mouths of their hapless victims. One expects that by now, the special force team would have dislodged the notorious tax collectors along the Benin bypass in Edo State, Nigeria that usually demand for radio licenses from travellers that have no connection whatsoever with the State. The activities of these tax collectors have been known to cause avoidable road accidents along that Federal highway.
Anthony Ezeamama is a corporate commercial lawyer and tax specialist
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