I was passing through the street of Ilorin metropolis a few days ago. I have been observing the multiple taxing mechanism which has been allowed in the country. There are several personnels from various organizations and unions who go about taxing people (mostly their members). This poses a worry to me.
Presently, the inflation rate in Nigeria is very high. Every item in the market has seen an increment in price which is more than 500% of what it was ten years ago. Food, which is the most essential need of life, has become very difficult to come by. The cost of living is very high. Things are hard. All these remarks come from the feedback of market prices of food stuffs.
Much Taxation System Could Translate Into High Cost Goods
The question that has been ringing in my mind has been if these multiple taxing methodology is not actually affecting the final pricing of goods in the market. Virtually everything commodity in the market has ticket to allow it to be sold. Every market woman pays for union levy and buys ticket before having the privilege of displaying their goods for sale. The tricycle which is the dominant means of transportation around the city has these form of taxes to pay also. What is the possibly effects of this system of taxation?
Where Are These Taxes Going?
This is my question to the government and all the various unions and associates which are registered with the government (who have been allowed to tax the masses). Where are all the taxes which have been collected going to? We are still suffering from poor electricity supply even after paying monthly bills for electricity. I witnessed community dwellers gathered money to install transformers and repair damaged electrical facilities. Then what is the authorities doing with the bills which they are collecting?
Everyone who is doing any form of transportation business pays daily taxes in the form of buying tickets and paying for union levy. But we are still having poor and deplorable road conditions. We are short of good roads. Our road infrastructures are extremely bad. What are the money being collected by various road transport unions used for? Why would they not use the money they have been collecting to repair the bad roads? What is the justifiable reason for collecting all these taxes if it can't save the public in infrastructural repairs?
The Backbone Of Corruption In Government
Why are there high level of corruption in our government system? Why are our electoral processes so bloody? Why is everyone fighting to winning political position? Is it not because there are much loot to share? Where does these loots come from if not from the heavy burden of taxes on the masses? If we have had a system which is transparent and accountable, we would not have thieves thriving to win political offices. I called them thieves because whatever take them to politics is so that that they can loot the public treasury. If there were no loots to eat from, elections would not be do-or-die affairs.
In Conclusion
I had a news recently that the president of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu sent a bill to the national assembly seeking to regulate the taxing system. I don't know much about the system but I have heard several reactions from the public on that regards. Even the state governors are in disagreement with the bill. Like I said, I don't know much about what the bill entails but my point is that there are so much taxation system in the country which should be regulated.
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