Kano landlords groan under multiple taxation

From Desmond Mgboh, Kano

Kano State and Local Government Revenue Administration (Consolidation & Codification Law, 2021) clearly spells out details of the tax administration in the state. Enacted in December 2022, the law seeks to harmonise all revenue laws including local government tax laws and ensure that tax administration is consistent and transparent across the state.

However, it is obvious that this law is being poorly implemented or is non-applicable in some quarters, especially Sabon-Gari where landlords, business outlets and residents have lodged complaints against multiple taxations by state institutions.

Recently, the Kano State Association of Landlords and Caretakers spoke against this administrative misdeed, insisting that it was painful and no longer acceptable. Its Chairman, Basil Ulasi and Secretary, Kunle Ogunleye, insisted that taxes imposed on them by the Ministry of Land and the Fagge Local Government are not only exorbitant but are duplicates of each other: “These exorbitant and multiple taxes are mostly exercised in part of the metropolis known as Sabon-Gari, an area predominantly housing non-indigenous population.”

The immediate victims of these tax hikes are tenants many of whom can no longer afford to pay the increased rents. The association appealed to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf to step into the matter and prevail on these two state institutions at the second and third tier of government to act according to the revenue law, insisting that the multiple taxation was becoming too heavy for them to bear.