Benin – Mr Godwin Obaseki, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Edo, said he would lower taxes being paid by workers and residents in the state if elected.
Obaeski made the promise at an interactive session with members of the Edo Mass Movement (EMM) led by former governor of defunct Bendel state, Dr Samuel Ogbemudia, in Benin on Wednesday.
He said that the current tax system in the state was being politicised by people who were desperate to grab power by all means.
He said that out of no fewer than five million people in the state, only 160,000 were on the tax net.
“This means only less than five per cent of the people pay tax.
“When more people are brought into the tax net, it will lower the rate, as the burden will be equally spread,’’ the candidate said.
“When government builds roads, it is not 160,000 people that enjoy it.
“Don’t be deceived by anybody who comes to tell you that you will not pay tax. There is no government in the world that doesn’t collect tax.
“As a government, we will stop the incidents of double taxation. We will stop the problem of extortion,” he stated.
Obaseki blamed past governments in the state for the lingering pension and gratuity problems.
“The truth is that if those who were in government between1999 and 2007 had paid these gratuities and pension when they were there, this problem we have now wouldn’t have arisen.
“When we came, we met gratuity and pension arrears from 1997 and we had a choice of paying only those who retired from 2008 when we came, but didn’t; instead, we had to start defraying the arrears from 1997.
“Currently, we have done up to 2013. That is where we are right now and would have done others but for the economic challenges. We are, however, working to sort this out as soon as possible,” he said.
