From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
Against the backdrop of huge housing deficit in Nigeria and calls to confiscate and reallocate houses that have been empty for a long time, Nigerian institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), today, said that it’s not practicable by law to confiscate people’s houses.
Rather, the president of the institution, Dr Victor Alonge, said that there are lawful ways to approach such acts because any move to appropriate people’s property would be infringing on their fundamental human rights.
However, he acknowledged that some individuals acquire such property to hide their ill-gotten wealth.
“You need to understand that there is what we call fundamental human rights. And then embedded in that is a right to actually own and maintain your property according to how you want it. If I use my money to buy a property, there is little government can do.
You can’t take it forcefully. I’ve heard some government officials threaten that they would confiscate any empty property and then allocate it to homeless people.
“In developed countries, we have ways of addressing issues like that. People acquire property here for various reasons. We have heard of people using their property as a thing of value.
Perhaps just a way to hide their illicitly gotten wealth. But the key thing is there are laws to address people’s sources of wealth.
“We don’t want houses that are empty. But we need to approach it in a much more systematic way.
I think in Nigeria, those who own property and left it for so long have been indulged. They don’t pay taxes on it. Unfortunately, in most of our urban cities, the system has been completely abandoned.
“In the United Kingdom (UK), for instance, we have an agency called the Financial Office Agency.
What they do is they have a collection of all those assets. They call them charge of wealth in England. They are assets of wealth and values.
They determine the value of the property. And also determine what the rental value should be. It is on the rental value that they charge owners.
“The tax on unoccupied property is actually higher in a way than those that are occupied” he said.
On the tax reform bill before the National Assembly, Alonge said that although the bill has received a lot of bashings and condemnations, it’s good for Nigerians because it’ll make tax operation transparent.
While the poor will pay less, the rich will pay high.
“So, the bill is actually a good bill. And I believe so much that it is going to attract a lot of benefits to the less-privileged—— those on low income. But the point actually is that the bill is going to encourage transparency.
So, everybody will be ready to know what happens. It will no longer be possible for anybody to hide income.
Whether you get it from your direct employment, or from other sources, it’s going to be difficult. And we have not seen, up till now, people being prosecuted for tax evasion. We will see more of it.
“And then it will be very, very much damaging to individuals. So, you will be forced to comply. Compliance will be more pronounced.
You see, in Nigeria, there are two things. We have laws, we have compliance, and then we have enforcement. But unfortunately, the law is there.
Compliance is always compromised and enforcement, in most cases is non-existent.
And why that is going to be so, is because there will be pressure on our national finances. Oil is not going to be relied on as a source of our revenue.
And in any developed countries, no matter how wealthy they are, tax still drives public expenditure. So, more as I believe that this tax bill, if it is passed into law, will be something that will be of benefit to low-income earners. And then the rich will pay more.
“I want to say that the enforcement of compliance will be tough on everybody especially the low-income group because you will no longer be able to hide.
So, those who are in low-income group now, who believe that it is only the salary that they depend on but have other sources of income, will be exposed. ENDS