By Simeon Nwakaudu
As the campaigns heightened for the 2015 governorship election, the issue of multiple taxation became a major issue. Businessmen, businesswomen and residents were appalled by the myriad of taxes that the immediate past failed administration in the state imposed on business owners.
Governor Nyesom Wike at the time embarked on market-to-market campaign, meeting with business communities and meeting with different professional groups. At each of these meetings, he was confronted with the issue of multiple taxation. The people wanted to know his plans to streamline the taxes payable to government and how he planned to make the business environment conducive.
Governor Wike, then a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, never left anyone in doubt. He declared at each point, without mincing words, that he was the only politician with the political will and experience to streamline taxes, make the business climate conducive and get Rivers State moving again.
This was not an empty boast. Governor Wike served as chairman of an economically viable local government area, Obio/Akpor, for two terms, served as Chief of Staff at Government House and was a Federal Minister for about four years. Therefore, he had mustered the capacity to transform the business climate in ways that would be beneficial to the people.
Since assuming the reins of leadership, Governor Wike has taken steps to streamline taxes and boost the revenue base of the state. He has reformed the Rivers State Internal Revenue Service, repositioning it for greater transparency and accountability.
Despite these efforts, there have been challenges that have made it impossible for the state to generate the required revenue in line with her potentials. There have been too many loopholes that create avenues for revenue leakages. To resolve these challenges, Governor Wike has decided to take the bull by the horn. He has decided to rejig the state’s revenue infrastructure and ensure that Rivers State and her people benefit from the revenue that accrues to the state.
As such, Governor Wike has been meeting with different stakeholders to re-position the state’s revenue base. In the last few weeks, he has met with private school proprietors, private hospital owners, hotel owners and bank executives.
This meeting achieved two principal goals. It set the framework for enhanced revenue for the state and the improvement of quality for private schools operating in the state.
Governor Wike announced the setting up of a committee to undertake the comprehensive audit of all private schools in the state for the purpose of ascertaining the quality of teachers in such schools, the nature of their environment and their operational capacity.
The governor said henceforth no private school would have permanent approval, pointing out that all the private schools would have temporary approvals, subject to periodic reviews.
On the payment of levies, Governor Wike said that his administration had commenced the process of harmonising all rates to eliminate multiple taxation.
One after another, the school proprietors reeled out their challenges with multiple taxation and other problems associated with educational advancement. Governor Wike pledged to resolve these issues.
Meeting with private hospital owners
Prior to the meeting with the private hospital owners, Governor Wike had instituted a N500 million Private Hospitals Loan Scheme, the first of its kind in the country. This loan scheme was established to assist the private hospitals improve their facilities, so that they can deliver better health services to the people.
The meeting also focused on the generation of revenue for the state and the steps being taken by the administration to ensure that state resources don’t end in private accounts.
Governor Wike asked the private hospital owners not to pay the multiple levies for the time being, pending the determination of the right tax, which will be resolved, with tax payers given the single account where they would pay in the levies.
The meeting also afforded the private medical proprietors the opportunity to thank Governor Wike for his commitment to the delivery of quality healthcare across the state. They welcomed the idea of streamlining the taxes, declaring that it would create the right environment for businesses to thrive in the state.
Meeting with hotel owners
This meeting discussed both revenue generation and security of lives and property. Governor Wike charged the hotel owners to cooperate with his administration to create a pro-business environment, where the hotels would operate, make profits and pay their taxes to the state government.
Pending the release of the approved tax regime, the governor charged the hotel owners to concentrate on paying Pay As You Earn (PAYE) to the state government. All other taxes have been put on hold.
Governor Wike berated some hoteliers for providing accommodation for some kidnappers and cultists. He noted that hotels discovered to be conniving with kidnappers would be shut down and their owners prosecuted.
The hoteliers expressed their commitment to the revenue initiative of Governor Wike because they believe that they stand to gain more in the long run. Their preference for the new revenue platform is understandable. The old order of multiple taxation eroded their profit margins and exposed them to all manner of touts.
Meeting with bank executives
The banks serve as receptacles for generated revenue as well as sources of revenue for the state government.
Governor Wike’s meeting with bank executives operating in Rivers State centred on the operation of revenue accounts and the expectation that the banks should be responsible corporate citizens, who pay their taxes as at when due.
Governor Wike expressed displeasure with the several functional and dormant accounts under operation in the banks in the name of the state government, pointing out that such a situation was open to fraud and abuse.
He directed banks operating in the state to work with state government officials to reconcile all Rivers State government bank accounts with a view to stopping all revenue leakages.
Local government areas restricted to tenement rates
One of the key outcomes of these stakeholder meetings on revenue generation is the restriction of local government areas to the collection of tenement rates. Outside tenement rates, the state government has been mandated to collect other levies.
Therefore, the situation where local government councils issue all manner of demand notices to tax payers have been outlawed. The revenue architecture of the state has been effectively repositioned to serve the business community and the state better.
No room for touts
All the stakeholders, who met with Governor Wike, complained of the illegal actions of touts who came with different kinds of demand notices, creating a chaotic business climate in the state.
The governor noted that henceforth, touts would be arrested and duly prosecuted. Nobody will be allowed to issue illegal demand notices on behalf of fraudulent interest groups.
•Nwakaudu is a public affairs analyst