Igbo traders in Kwara, under the aegis of the Kwara Igbo Traders Association (KWAITA) on Thursday pleaded with Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to urgently prevail on Kwara Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS), against what they described as “retroactive and unfair taxation” by the agency.
It is recalled that members of the KWAITA and the revenue agency had been at loggerheads over the issue of tax and the consequent shutdown of Igbo businesses in Ilorin, the state capital for days.
In a statement signed by the KWAITA General Secretary, Festus C. Ezenwobi, the traders explained that they have been paying taxes, not as group, but as individuals through the Kwara Igbo Traders Association (KWAITA).
“This arrangement started at the establishment of KWIRS in 2015 when they invited our leaders and sought out cooperation in the remittances of tax (Personal Income Tax, PIT) from our members.
“Since 2015, we had an agreement to ensure that our people make themselves available for the payment of their taxes by the service and placed them in different categories of tax remittances for onward payment.
“We have always encouraged our members to pay. When they do so, we help remit the money, PIT.
This arrangement continued till last year when we received a letter from KWIRS that our cooperation/services are no longer needed, saying that they intend, henceforth, to engage individuals directly without a middle party or trade association.
“KWAITA as an association has no issue, whatsoever, with the new arrangement as demanded by KWIRS.
“It is on record that we have always encouraged our members to show cooperation in tax remittance. To wit, we were applauded and given an honourary plaque in 2018 as Responsive Association by KWIRS.
“But it is important to note at this point that all our members have paid their tax (PIT) individually from 2015 to date and were issued with Kwara state revenue receipts for PIT individually after due assessment.
We have documents to back this up and we also state that nowhere in the said document that we are told that we owed any tax obligation in arrears.
“To our surprise, the KWIRS started writing to our members with new assessments, insisting that we are owing PIT arrears from 2016 to date, years under which KWAITA helped in tax remittances”.
The Igbo traders emphasised that they have individually paid all their previous taxes up to 2022 and have evidence of the receipt.
“That our members who paid and have their PIT receipt without indication of any arrears on the tax receipt shouldn’t be taxed retroactively.
“We state clearly that the point of argument is arbitrary retroactive taxation that has no basis in the state tax law and not in conformity laws of natural justice.
“We are also using the medium to call on His Excellency, Governor Abdulrahaman Abdulrazaq, to come to our aide. KWAITA has been peaceful, law-abiding, cooperative with our host community, and has been paying our tax obligations.
“We plead with His Excellency, the Executive Governor to urgently prevail on KWIRS who were bent on taxing us unfairly.“