As the country’s public debt profile continues to rise, civil society groups are worried that citizens are being thrown into further poverty with more businesses shutting down as a result of over-taxation and illegal levies.

At a public dialogue on tax and debt justice focusing on states in the southwest in Lagos yesterday, Global Director, Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative (BBYDI), Olasupo Opeyemi, said the purpose of the roundtable was to x-ray the debt profile of the six south-west states, compare it with the gross domestic product (GDP) and the internally-generated revenue (IGR) in the context of the quality of life of citizens.

The roundtable had stakeholders across different sectors, including public space. Olasupo said while the challenges are national, the meeting would start with the south-west states before beaming the searchlight on other zones. He added that different states have different issues, hence the forum wanted to ensure tailor-made solutions for each state by engaging stakeholders in the respective areas on the issues.

“Governments ask how they can finance projects without taking loans but this is where financial accountability and transparency as far as IGR is concerned comes in. People are willing to pay taxes if they know their tax will be put to judicious use. Is the IGR being generated commensurate to the level of development in south-west states? Do state governments release audited financial statements to intimate citizens about financial affairs and how their taxes are being spent?

“Government is spending millions on cars and houses, yet, education, health, infrastructure and other key sectors are left unfunded. We want a lasting solution to this issue because if a state government is going to borrow, we as citizens must ensure it is used for capital projects and not being embezzled,” he said.

He added that the desk review would come up with a citizen demand charter to be presented to state governments. Pointing out that multiple taxation across tiers of government was negatively affecting SMEs, he urged the government to harmonise taxes, ensure transparency and stop illegal taxation.
He urged citizens to be more active in holding the government accountable to ensure monies are used properly.

“Some of the figures we see in the budget are outrageous and the right time to challenge most of the bogus figures is during budgetary provision before monies are allocated. We have seen what happened this year in Lagos State; let us hold them accountable for next year’s allocation. Let us also beam searchlights onto the government’s procurement processes, we should all get involved,” he said.

Executive Director, BBYDI, Jimoh Oluwatoyin, lamented that the level of borrowing by the state and federal governments has reached alarming levels with the situation made worse by the fact that “there is nothing to show for the debt proceeds.”