When Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo (CFR) came on board, one of the first things he did was to take a close look at the existing taxes and levies. His aims were to reduce the tax burden on Ndi Anambra, to ensure that the minimum they will eventually pay comes into the coffers of government so that the taxes and levies will be used for constructing roads and generally develop the state to becoming a more livable, pleasurable and prosperous place.
He wanted to end the era of brutish collection of government levies by revenue contractors in the informal sector and the pilfering that follow.
Before Governor Soludo intervened, transport operators were paying huge sums of money to these “window” contractors. Tricycle riders also known as Keke were paying, cumulatively, N54,000 monthly or N1,800 daily; shuttle busses paid N75,000 monthly or N2,500 daily; Township busses paid- N90,000 monthly or N3,000 daily; Taxi – N31,200 monthly or N1,200 daily; Mini truck and Pickup van – N65,000 monthly or N2,500 daily and they would still pay levies to their Unions.
Intrastate or urban buses pay varying amounts from one part of the state to the other – costs that can only be described as total rip offs.
After a thorough evaluation of the situation, Governor Soludo vowed that the trend must stop. This led to the revision of transport operators’ levies to be more income–friendly. Consultations and concessions were made with the transporters and the arrived at the following rates were arrived at: N4,000 for keke, but those operating in curfew-affected areas will pay N3,000. Shuttle bus pays N5,000, and taxi pays N3,750 on weekly basis. Township and intrastate (urban) buses pay N6,250 weekly and interstate buses pay N7,500 weekly.
These payments also entitled the transport operators to government identity cards and vehicle stickers that will enable them to operate in any part of Anambra State within the period covered by the payment. In addition to this, the operators will get FREE health insurance from Anambra State Health Insurance Agency (ASHIA).
In spite of these concessions, the grumblings over purported excessive tax in Anambra State appears to still persist. Some ill-informed commentators on the matter have gone ahead to compare Anambra with the contiguous states and even Lagos.
It is, therefore, necessary to bring to public domain the comparative levies in neighboring states and Lagos, for Ndi Anambra to be the judge.
A review of neighboring Enugu, Abia, Imo, Edo and Lagos states showed that, a Keke operator in these states pays between N1100 and 2900 daily after buying three official tickets daily and paying to different tout groups on the roads before he gets to his destination. Shuttle busses pays between N1650 and N2500 daily for tickets, plus surcharges per passenger and other payments they make in any local government they will pass before getting to their destinations. Township bus pays spends between N2500 and N3000 per trip without the daily tickets or surcharges they will make. The mandatory union levies which they must pay are not included in these rates.
One common denominator in these other states is that apart from the daily levies these states charge at takeoff points, there are other payments transport operators must make as they cross different units and local government areas before they get to their final destinations. In addition to that, they are expected to pay levies and dues to their respective unions.
But the reverse is the case in Anambra State courtesy of Governor Soludo. With the monthly and weekly payments as well as their government identity cards and vehicle stickers, the transport operators are free to work in any part of Anambra State without any harassment. This is inclusive of the free health insurance in case they are ill or in the event of an accident. What more can be better than this offer?
Written by SIR PAUL NWOSU
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