Raymond Ozoji, Awka
Anambra State Government seems to have ended the era of illegal merchandise for those it sees as revenue impostors following a recent executive order pronouncing the outright stoppage of taxes and levies on certain categories of businesses across the state.
The government decision, which became very necessary to alleviate the plights and sufferings of certain small scale businesses, was taken to shield such businesses from incessant levies imposed on them by non-state revenue collectors.
Dr. David Nzekwu, the Managing Director and Chairman of the Anambra State Internal Revenue Service (AIRS) who spoke with our correspondent on the development, explained that the position of the state government was that the listed revenues should be suspended forthwith because it was discovered that those involved in the collection of such revenues were non-state actors.
Nzekwu further explained that such characters do not work for the government instead they were there extorting money from the public.
Although he pointed out that government did not expect disobedience to the order stopping such illegal collections, he said where the order was flouted, the full wrath of the law would be visited on the perpetrators and their accomplices.
Nzekwu also noted that transport unions should rise up against all forms of illegal collections on the roads especially when government expressly disapproved of them, adding that the reason some persons collected money was because people gave them money.
According to him, everybody in the state is part of government and the time has come for everybody to say no to illegal revenue collectors that extort money from members of the public.
The state revenue boss equally disclosed that government had written to the police and other security agencies to assist it in stopping obnoxious revenue collections typically on roads, adding that revenue collections had been properly defined in Anambra state.
He said also that government had reduced the N350.00 levy Keke riders pay to N250.00 in order to ameliorate sufferings of tricycle operators as well as boost the social economy of the state and it is equally hoped that the tricycle unions will respect government decisions.
Furthermore, Dr. Nzekwu stressed that government had suspended any form of levy for hawkers, wheel-barrow pushers and other down-trodden business men and women, adding that it was expected that it would give such calibre of businesses a soothing relief and protect them from the wickedness of illegal revenue agents.