Why we can’t pay taxes, stakeholders in Warri lament

Stakeholders in Warri, Delta State, have cried out to the state government that they can no longer pay taxes as a result of the current economic hardship in the country.

The stakeholders, who did not want their names in print, spoke angrily at a meeting organised by the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue in collaboration with the Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria in Warri recently.

They accused government establishments, including local government councils, of allegedly collecting “multiple taxes” from members of the public, adding that DBIR staff were making life unbearable for the people.

The stakeholders blamed the state government for allowing various local government councils across the state to collect tenement rates from the public, noting that the government could not feign ignorance of the illegal collections going on across the state.

The stakeholders also appealed to the Delta State Government on the need for a uniform tenement rating law to save them (stakeholders) from embarrassment by touts, stressing that the revenue board should consider their plight with a view to making things easier for them.