Details have emerged of how the Lagos state government deliberately engages the service of alleged corrupt firms for the collection of tax and allowing them to deduct a prohibitively high 20% of the money which according to Obadiah Mailafia is one of the highest in the world.
Mailafia, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday denounced the use of such consultants as a "daylight robbery."
He said a deduction as high as 20% is outrageous and directly goes against the norm in other advanced climes.
He said “Lagos which was the poster child for success in internally generated revenue, still has a lot of issues there. I love Lagos but of course, Lagosians were very reluctant to pay more tax but when they realised Fashola was doing a lot of work, they were more than happy to pay.
“But there is a problem. The cost of extracting this taxation is one of the highest in the world. They have invited very dubious consultants who keep between 15 to 20 per cent of this tax. I think it is a form of iniquity and I don’t know why for the life of me, Lagosians tolerate that nonsense.
“It is their money and it is daylight robbery. Employ people, train them; let the government collect the tax, not private consultants. In France, there are schools dedicated to training people in public finance and tax administration. These are the people you should set about to collect your taxes, not some iniquitous and corrupt private consultants.”
Several petitions have been submitted to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in the past detailing alleged fraud by some tax consultants in Lagos State.
However, the EFCC has failed to invite anyone including the petitioners.
