Don’t Tax Us into Extinction, Private School Owners Plead with Okpebholo, Stage Protest

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Proprietors of private schools in Edo State have cried out over humongous and multiple taxes imposed on them by the state government. The school owners, who took their protest to the streets of Benin City, the state capital on Friday, described as “alarming”, the increase of between 200 and 4000 percent in tax rates and appealed for a reversal.

The school owners, under the umbrella of the Coalition of Associations of Private Schools (CAPS), carrying placards and banners, converged on the premises of the Ministry of Education to register their grievances.

The coalition comprises Association of Private School Owners of Nigeria (APSON), Association of Formidable Education Development (AFED), National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) and Association of Model Islamic Schools.

Leading the protest, the chairman, Dr. Ohis-Olakhe Emmanuel, described the tax hike as punitive and economically damaging to the education sector.

Emmanuel said they resorted to a protest march because the group had exhausted all channels of dialogue with no result.

He argued that “Private schools are not only complementing government efforts in the education sector, but we are also significant employers of labour”, stressing that “With this increase, over 300,000 teachers risk losing their jobs, not to mention the countless vendors and service providers who depend on schools for survival”.

Faulting the new policy of using N30,000 to N35,000 per student to compute tax, which he described as “harsh”, Emmanuel insisted that there are schools charging below the amount. He said tax ought to be calculated on profit and not the entire income, without minding other expenses incurred.

Speaking in the same vein, Dr Austin Igbasan, Secretary of the coalition, argued that the increase in taxes would have ripple effects, including school closures, job losses, and a surge in the number of out-of-school children, particularly among low-income families who would no longer be able to afford higher tuition.

Oladele Ogundele, Secretary of AFED, called for a uniform tax system for school owners, saying multiple layers of taxation by various government agencies was disturbing.

The multiple layers, he said, included personal income tax, PAYE for staff, renewal fees, environmental and health certificates, signage fees and tenement rates.

While emphasising that “Education is a social service that should be supported, not taxed into extinction”, Ogundele noted that “The Nigerian Constitution and the Universal Basic Education Act clearly emphasise free and compulsory education, which this heavy taxation contradicts”.

Addressing the protesters after a short meeting with the leadership of the coalition, the state’s Education commissioner, Paddy Iyamu, said the government would look into their demands.

He noted that as a government ready to provide an enabling environment for businesses in Edo, a meeting would be convened with the state internal revenue service to address the grey areas.

Iyamu said tax was necessary for the government to deliver on its promises, promising, however, that the schools would not be overburdened with tax at the end of the engagement.

The commissioner called on schools falling short of required standards to take corrective action promptly, warning that the government would soon begin enforcing stricter measures.