Senator Sharafedeen Alli, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Oyo State, has called on Governor Seyi Makinde to pass the Oyo State Tax Harmonisation Law, expressing concern over what he describes as the governor’s continued indifference to the legislation.
The concern stems from a troubling surge in reported cases of illegal levies on farm produce and other goods transported across the state by non-state actors allegedly posing as revenue agents of the Makinde-led administration.
Illegal Levies Burden Farmers and Traders in Oyo State
According to the statement, these non-state actors have repeatedly harassed, molested and extorted money under spurious subheads from struggling farmers moving produce from Oyo North to Ibadan. Business owners transporting goods from Ibadan to other parts of the state have also reported being levied at roadblocks erected by the same actors.
Multiple taxes on the movement of farm produce and commodities along the state’s road transport corridor raise the cost of basic goods and, in some cases, erode the profit margins of farmers and small-scale business owners.
How the Oyo State Tax Harmonisation Law Ends Multiple Taxation
Alli stated that the people of Oyo State deserve freedom from multiple taxation and from the crude methods of road-tax collection currently in use under the Makinde-led administration.
That freedom, he said, would come with domesticating the Tax Harmonisation Law. The law is designed to harmonise taxes across states and local government areas, eliminate arbitrary and unauthorised collections, and end the activities of illegal tax collectors and hoodlums who harass motorists under the guise of revenue collection.
Why Delay on the Oyo State Tax Harmonisation Law Is Regrettable
Alli described it as deeply regrettable that Oyo State has not shown serious commitment to domesticating the law, despite the urgent need to protect citizens, businesses, traders and farmers from multiple taxation and illegal revenue collection. He stressed that the failure to enact the legislation has allowed the multiplicity of taxes to persist, leaving businesses and ordinary citizens at the mercy of unauthorised collectors.
He noted that many forward-looking states have already passed the law, while others are making serious efforts to conclude the process, but the Oyo State government under Makinde remains indifferent.
Alli’s 100-Day Pledge on the Oyo State Tax Harmonisation Law
Alli assured the people of Oyo State that, if elected governor, he will pass the Tax Harmonisation Law within his first 100 days in office. He said the people deserve a tax system that protects farmers, transporters, business owners and consumers, encourages businesses rather than burdens them, and promotes economic growth and prosperity.
