By ’Tunde Thomas
Hoteliers in Lagos State have appealed to the state Governor, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode, to grant members of the association tax reliefs in order to save their businesses from imminent collapse.
Making the appeal on behalf of other members, the President, Lagos Hoteliers Association, Aare Tola Odunuga, lamented that multiple taxation levied on members of the association by different agencies of government, including local governments, are having crippling effects on their operations.
“We are calling on Governor Ambode to use his good offices to intervene in our case. We want the governor, as a matter of urgency, to help save our business from the present economic challenges and imminent collapse by ensuring that all taxes we are paying should be harmonized into one. The present arrangement where we pay taxes on some items to state and local government, and even at times Federal government is untidy. We want these taxes to be harmonized into one. We also want to make special appeal to him to reduce Consumption Tax from five per cent to 2.5 per cent,” he declared.
While saluting Ambode’s management acumen and his realistic approach to governance, Odunuga noted that members of the association presently pay about 24 different taxes, some of which, he noted, are overlapping.
“We believe that our members are partners with the government in creating job opportunities. But in a situation where we are paying 24 different taxes, this is not only too much, but are also capable of sending us out of business. Some of these taxes which are overlapping and which are being collected from our members by the federal, state, and local governments include Company Tax, Value Added Tax, Hotel License, Personal Income Tax, Environment Impact Assessment, Parking Permits, Waste Water Killing Request, Land Use Charge, Radio and TV Permit among others.
We also appeal to the governor to exempt us from payment of Consumption Tax on Drinks and Foods.
Expressing determination of members of the association to cooperate with the governor in his vision to take Lagos State to the next level, Odunuga said:
“Lagos is a centre of excellence, Governor Ambode is a man of action who has been building solidly on the foundation laid by his predecessor. We are ready to partner with him in his quest to transform Lagos State into Dubai of Africa.”
The hoteliers’ chairman further enjoined Lagos State government to call to order consultants hired to collect taxes from hoteliers and other business operators in the state over their alleged handedness and extortion of hoteliers.
Odunuga said:
“These consultants have become a bone in the throat of hoteliers. They extort our members at will and if you refuse to dance to their tune, they will threaten our members with closure of their business premises. At times in order to make money from us, they will tell a member that he is due to pay N800,000 as annual tax to the state government, but that they will reduce it by half, and that he will pay N200,000 to the government coffers, and the other N200,000 goes into their private pockets. These consultants are extortionists, we are tired of them.”