Lukman Olabiyi
Members of Lagos Hoteliers Association (LHA) have pleaded with the state government to offer them tax holiday rather than burden them with multiple taxation.
According to them, the government should consider state of the economy to consider their appeal as necessary strategy for business to strive and to encourage private organisation
The appeal was made at the End of the year get-together held at the Egbeda’s Secretariat of the association, held over the weekend.
Speaking on the challenges facing hotel business in the state, the association’s president, Prince Waheed Adekunle Akilo said, “It’s very challenging running hotel business in Nigeria, especially in Lagos State. We are being made to pay Value Added Tax (VAT) to the Federal government which some percents are given to state governments, here we are again the Lagos State Government is still demanding from us Consumption Tax.
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“When the government imposes multiple taxation on small-medium scale industry, local industries will never grow.
“We are faced with lot of burden in order to be in business and the government both the State and local are adding more burden us with series of levies.
“When the government imposes multiple taxation on business, it affects not only the operators but by extension it affect the individual family.
“We hope we have listening government in Nigeria, so that anytime we talk to them they listen to us so that the small-medium scale businesses can survive”.
Speaking on the why there legal tussle between the government and the members of the association, Prince Akilo said: “like I said earlier, government need to be transparent enough so that we make us to have confidence in people in government.
“But the way we see it is that unless you fight for your right the government will impose anything on us.
“That is the essence of the us association to flight this injustice. Because if we keep quiet the government will be imposing all these multiple taxation on us.
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“This, we have to find a democratic way of fighting against all these injustice, a civilise way of fighting, that is why we have to go to court to challenge the abnormalities”.
Prince Akilo therefore appealed to the Lagos State government to assist the association by the way of tax holiday, which he said will go a long way in making them to be in business, as well as contributing their quota in the are of employment.
“This is not the right time for government to impose any other bills. Rather, this is the time that the governments at all levels should give us tax holiday during recession like this. This is the problem we are facing”.
The hoteliers’ association also appealed to other hotel operators in Lagos State to identify themselves with the association so that they can form a formidable team in championing their course.