Traders and artisans have called for caution and more time as the Oyo State Presumptive Tax Bill 2023 was on Wednesday subjected to public hearing by the joint Oyo House of Assembly Committee on Finance and Appropriation and Commerce and Cooperatives.
At the hearing, held at the House of Chiefs, Oyo State Secretariat, Ibadan, they cautioned the state government against foisting on them what they regarded as high taxes, apart from subjecting them to multiple taxations.
They also cautioned the state’s House of Assembly against passing into law tax rates that were not an agreement between their associations and the state government.
Chairman, Oyo State Market Men and Women, S.A. Jimoh, in his presentation at public hearing, warned the Assembly against hasty passage of the bill into the law, saying that market leaders should be allowed time to get back to their members on the presumptive tax.
He noted that the list of those traders and artisans to be charged presumptive tax was not exhaustive.
Also speaking, Babaloja General, Oyo State, YekeenAbass, enjoined the state government to begin the presumptive tax regime with lower tax rates to encourage more traders and artisans to pay rather than imposing high rates that only a few would pay.
He said that business owners were already overburdened by the harsh economy and should not be subjected to another round of high taxes.
In response to the concerns raised, Chairman of the Oyo State Internal Revenue Service (OYIRS), Femi Awakan, assured stakeholders that over 142 groups of traders and artisans had been captured under the presumptive tax regime.
He emphasised the government’s commitment to enlightening relevant bodies against multiple taxation and illegal revenue collection practices.
Also, chairpersons of the joint committee, Sunkanmi Babalola and RasaqMabaje, said that the presumptive tax bill aimed to expand the state’s tax base and generate more revenues for governance.
They highlighted the importance of internal revenue generation, particularly in light of dwindling federal allocations.
Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Oyo State chapter, SikiruSanda, advocated establishment of a task force to sanction tax defaulters.
He also suggested that regular taxpayers should receive incentives and benefits from the government.
