The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has cautioned the Abuja Municipal Area Councils (AMAC) and other government bodies against the imposition of N100,000 tax or any other form of levy on bakeries and other businesses in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
ACCI also called on the leadership of AMAC and other government agencies to suspend the planned imposition of generator and equipment taxes, as it is inconsistent with the federal government’s drive to create a conducive environment for business owners.
AMAC recently announced the introduction of a N100,000 levy on bakery operators within the council as a permit for “gaseous emission”.
In a letter addressed to the bakery owners, AMAC said the levy is for the discharge of hazardous substances into the air, water and land.
But the ACCI in a statement issued by its President, Dr. Al-Mujtaba Abubakar, called the attention of the Abuja area councils to the current high inflation rate in the country.
It stated that imposing generator and equipment taxes on businesses would further increase the cost of doing business.
While urging the councils to explore other means of raising revenue, including public-private partnership, among others, the ACCI reminded the councils that the FCT Minister, Mohammed Bello, had previously restated his desire to harmonise taxation and tax administration within the FCT as a way of incentivising businesses and boosting economic activities in the territory.
“The Imposition of new taxes like the generator and equipment taxes will not only be an additional burden to be borne by business owners. It will accelerate the collapse of more businesses, deepen unemployment and further hike inflation rate in the country.
“This is clearly not in the best interest of the government and people of the country,” ACCI said.
The chamber recalled that participants at its webinar to mark the World MSME Day had unanimously advocated for harmonisation of SME taxation, warning that targeting bakery and other businesses for generator and equipment taxes is insensitive and a threat to food and national security.
“We already wrote a letter to Mr. President and other relevant authorities calling for harmonization of taxes for SMEs. This is the best way to stop the high rate of business failure, create jobs and boost the GDP, as over 90 per cent of Nigerian businesses are SMEs. “Bakery businesses across the country are under serious operational challenges due to high cost of raw materials, epileptic power supply and high cost of logistics which have necessitated the steady increase of prices of bread,” the chamber added.
The ACCI regretted that consequently, many bakeries have shut down operations.
