By Efio-Ita Nyok |15 June 2015 | 3:50am
It was Robert T. Kiyosaki, the world renowned American finance educator, who revealed the origin of the present tax system in his seminal work: "Why 'A' Student Work For 'C' Student And 'B' Student Work For Government". In the said publication, Kiyosaki is understood to be saying that America's tax system originated during World War II when government ran out of funds to prosecute the war. That is to say, even when the war had been finally prosecuted, government had ever since then persisted with taxation of citizens for whatever purpose.
Third world societies have followed suite with America -the foremost industrial nation of the world, and Nigeria is not left out. Cross River, which could be said to be a subset of Nigeria, has an infamous tax culture and probably the worst in the whole of the country. The infamy of CRS tax system is such that stifle the economy of the state, politics and culture ultimately. The notoriety of the said tax policy hit its crescendo in the former administration of Gov. Liyel Imoke.
In the previous administration, businesses where taxed in such a way that operators where seen to be literally running away from the state. Thriving businesses halted and finally eloped to other congenial commercial climes. For instance, I personally know of a former MTN retailer who sold off her business at Calabar South LGA because of government tax. She had to sell off the business to someone else who also may have ran away by now. Other incidents abound.
Away from Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) let's move to big businesses in the state capital. In the Hotel and Food Industry, we see popular brands like Chicken Republic, Mr. Biggs, etc folding, having crashed to a grim halt. Their folding up may not so much as interest me or the perceptive public as the reason underlying their predicament -and it's no news that the taxation culture crumbled business. It's on every lip including that of a foetus. And since the Press being the Fourth Estate is the voice of the common human this press outfit is making bold to highlight this reality. Governor Ben Ayade, may it be known to you that the poor masses in Cross River are grudging against the inhuman tax law that the previous administration operated.
Imoke's taxation policy chocked the engine of commerce in this state. You may personally take a walk through the state capital to discover to your chagrin that a majority of lock-up stores have actually been locked up! Today, CRS have finally fitted into the mould of a 'civil service state'. But that inglorious label can be reversed by your good office through effecting a downward review of the existing tax policy.
Your Excellency Sir, I should not be misconstrued to be saying that government should not tax businesses/persons in the state -far be it from me! I should rather be understood to be saying that our taxation policy is ultimately perceived to be anti-business and largely undemocratic. Why this taxation system is perceived to be undemocratic hinges on the fact that the variant taxations ranging from 'business premise', 'sanitation', and the list continues is understood to be a type of settlement for political henchmen and party faithfuls. And that is the case. Put differently, politicians contract out a section/sector of the state to fellow politicians as a way of compensating them for their political support thus far. And the way they collect money from suspecting citizens is through taxation. That is to say in essence that the tax monies so collected do not find their way into government coffers but rather into the pockets of private citizens. It is in this context the poor masses understand how the acronym PDP translate to 'power to the people', the 'people' here being party men/women, party stalwarts, etc.
So, the 'empowered party man/woman', delineates the character of the tax to be such that predominantly fit into his/her selfish cravings to the detriment of the poor masses. Thus, since these collected monies do not find their ways into government hands (the state/local governments) but individual pockets, government is left with literally nothing to run the state outside insufficient monthly funds from the federation account. The business keeps on paying an obnoxious tax to 'individuals' rather than government until the capital that runs the business is finally resorted to and then the business folds up! That is the dynamics by which businesses in the state crash, crashes and crashed. This is how we de-metamorphosed into a 'civil service state'!
Having crashed, the said political gladiators resort to the statutory allocations from the federation account such that it becomes difficult for government to pay salaries to civil servants and contractors amidst other things. Projects become hardly executed because the individuals occupying sensitive public position want to survive at the expense of the state.
Since commercial activities have been stifled by a disgusting taxation policy, and the treasury is understandably depleted, crime becomes the order of the day. Street urchins would be seen to plough the street unleashing terror on the innocent public, as every other form of crime evolves -an indication that: 'things have fallen apart and the center cannot hold'.
The worst of it is when the masses become disillusioned about government. There becomes a disconnect between political leadership and political followers hip. This was why your party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was disgraced out of government at the national level.
In essence your Excellency, a wicked taxation policy breeds political corruption, an inefficient/weakling civil service and a total collapse of law and order in the body-politic as a disillusioned masses is compelled to evolve measures of survival. There is need to overhaul the entire taxation policy of the state if politics must be done with ethics.
