Anambra Revenue Drive And Current Taxation Trends: Observer Drags State Govt, Gives Remarkable Analysis

The current Taxation and Revenue Drive of the Anambra State Government have continued to generate mixed reactions from residents and Ndi Anambra in the diaspora.

Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s-led administration has occurred to be up and running about the formulation and implementation of different policies in the state.

However, the recent publication of Tariff for Metal Scraps, Welders, Fabricators, and others’ monthly operating fees by the Anambra State Governor, Prof Soludo, has continued to trigger mixed reactions.

Consequently, residents of the state of Anambra upon the reception of the publication by the governor couldn’t hold back their feelings as many people have continued to express disappointment at the development.

In a detailed analysis of the above-mentioned by concerning public affairs and political commentator, popularly known as CKO, the revenue drive and current taxation template should as matter of urgency be re-visited and assessed by the state government, while citing various impending implications of the development, if it is allowed to linger.

He further asserted that the move by the state government is without a conscientious approach and warns of such leading the state to the Bermuda Triangle, even as he prays that God may help Anambra residents survive the situation.

“The simple matter here is that the Anambra state govt has a template that is hushed and rushed, with no proper critical thinking and planning of its template on revenue. The govt has failed to assemble people independently without influence from vested interest, exhaustively draft the revenue drive and template, and test-run it before implementing it.

“The government thinks it’s about collecting levies from every Tom, dick, and Harry in Anambra that will drive the revenue up. Of what good does it serve when you create further harsh economic realities on top of the already existing ones? Perhaps hurriedly it may be cos you want to brag with revenue-generated numbers. That’s the game I see here to beat other former state governments in revenue generated, thus harming the state residents, SMEs, and peasant businesses especially.

“This road we’re going in the state is going to lead to a big ditch and if care is not taken statewide revolution against his harsh hush-hush revenue drive policies that further impoverish people and their income and potential for survival. I recall I had been intimidated by the state govt over an abridged plan on how to drive revenue and segment its generating format into zones and catchment areas within zones but the details were not sought to be fully expounded next I saw them run with something that resembles it, without testing it first.

“I feel this govt is running an ego-driven revenue-generating agenda. That’s all. The govt needs to understand that even in developed economies they want to mirror and copy their tax drive there are what we call non-taxable earnings. And the double taxation system by any disguise is wrong thus the govt always refunds people when overtaxed. I see double levying on top of the earnings of the traders already paying tax, the consumers buying from them that pay their taxes ordinarily pay for moving goods in and out of a gate simply because govt made it so.

“It is the highest level of shame that the govt through her revenue agency started sending SMS and emails indiscriminately from wherever pool they got people’s contact, (a question of data breach policy, story for another day). Asking people that don’t run any business or get any earnings from Anambra to pay their taxes, more so these people are the ones even sending financial gifts to people in Anambra unless they have a staccato policy framework and this includes taxing financial gifts sent to Anambra residents.

“The state govt is stealing from people with tax guises to drive revenue and brag with numbers, they owe state residents a lot of refunds. I’ve been refunded in the past for overtaxing me when I didn’t even know I was overtaxed. Do they have a tax template with a code and tax calculation template that is robust, tested, and well segmented to meet varying earning capabilities of the state residents or it’s a case of sending the task force boys to get money for you we need to create big value igr and use that to brag for the next election?

“In fact, I don tire to dey type. But you see this template it’s a wicked template taxing daily earners monthly when you don’t even know if they will earn money the next day or if their car for instance will knock the engine the next day when you’ve already collected tax for the month or week so are you going to refund them?. That’s stealing if a man pays monthly tax and comes the next day his car breaks down and stayed the whole month at the mechanic, the state govt is stealing from him then.

“Make I stop here but someone should tell the govt that he is impoverishing people in a bid to rake in igr numbers which I feel is merely ego-driven.

“May God help Anambra residents survive this.

CKO…