About 2,000 women plying their trade in Mushin and Oyingbo markets in Lagos State, Nigeria’s commercial capital, pay N21 million and above annually but without basic amenities.
In both markets, refuse is dumped nearby, exposing traders to health hazards.
There is no water at the toilets in both markets, with Oyingbo market lacking electricity supply from Eko Disco.
Generator fumes are hurting traders at Oyingbo market due to the lack of power supply from the disco.
During a recent visit to Mushin Market on a sunny afternoon, the reporter witnessed the deplorable state of the roads leading to the market.
Folasade Ishola, a provisions dealer in the Mushin market, said the value of every tax and levy collected or paid annually has not translated to any tangible benefits for her.
“I pay N10,500 per year for owning a shop in this market. The government is doing things, but I have not seen it. We pay for development levy and environment levy from the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), which is a government agency that issues the bill.”
Another provision seller in the same market, who pleaded anonymity, said: “I pay N10,500 yearly as tax and I have not seen any benefit from the government. I am paying because if I don’t pay, they will lock my shop. I pay to sell provisions in the market.”
Also at Mushin Market, Iyabo Adesina, a hairdresser in the market, said she paid N10,500 last year for a tax certificate.
“I pay N8,000 to the local government per year, but I have not seen anything the government has done in this market,” Amaka Goodluck, a provision store owner in the market said.
Eyiwunmi Adewunmi, a jewelry seller, said, “I pay any amount the government brings to pay, but the last amount I paid was when those in the tax office came to the market and I went to their office too.”
During the investigation, traders told the reporter that some of them pay varied amounts, ranging from N10,500 to N35,000 annually as tax, showing a high level of tax disparity in the market.
Mercy Ebere, a hair seller in Mushin market, said: “The tax I pay is N10,000 to Iya Oloja and I pay N5,500 for ‘lock-up shop’ which is to the local government.
“I have not seen any infrastructure in this market and all the money they are collecting, they are not using it to do anything for us,” Ebere said.
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Iyaloja responds
Tawakalitu Opogbenro, a representative of the women leader known as ‘Iyaoloja’ in Mushin said, “Sellers in the Mushin market pay to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), which is remitted to the government. The market collects money for LAWMA, development levy, which is the major amount for each shop. It is paid to the leaders of the market. Local government staff also collect money from the sellers,” she said.
She further said the government can call for representatives of the market to come for programmes and the amount spent for transportation for the representative is often removed from the development levy.
“However, the government helped develop Dadaiyalode Street in Mushin, and Abiodun Street,” she said.
She called for help for the market to ensure they have public toilets, clean water, and good roads to ease movement of goods and persons.
Local govt responds
Adekunle Oluwatosin, a media executive at the Odi-Olowo/Ojuwoye Local Government Office, Mushin, told the reporter that people pay taxes to the local government such as ‘Lock up shops’, which is received from market traders and companies in Ilupeju, Fadeyi, and other areas within the jurisdiction of the local government.
He said the local government, through Rasak Ajala, chairman, has been involved in three months of skills acquisition for people, which is based on ICT, Corel Draw, Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator, amongst others.
“Bursary is also given to every residents of Odi-Olowo/Ojuwoye Local Council Development Area with a good academic records. Free GCE forms, and the renovation of some abandoned public schools such as one in Ikeolu – Odiolowo Primary School also happen,” he said.
At Oyingbo, a metropolitan city in the Ebute Metta area of Lagos State, Sekinat Eletu, a shop attendant who sells cutlery, told our reporter that a woman-owned shop in Oyingbo market is expected to pay N18,000 to the woman leader of the market.
“Last week, they came to our shop requesting for N18,000 but my boss said she does not have it. I am not sure it is from the government, it is from the woman leader of the market,” she said.
“We were told to pay through the First Bank account. I don’t know the owner of the account, but we were told to be paying there and they will be seeing it,” Eletu stated, adding that women in the market negotiate to pay.
Ireti Adeyemi, a trader at Oyingbo market, said: “We pay tax, but there is no specific amount. Even people that are hawking pay too.”
The reporter asked if the money paid by the traders would get to the government, she said, “Everybody is their own government.”
“Market traders pay above N10,000 to government representatives allocated to collect tax. However, we have not seen what the government has done,” said Bilikisu Balogun, a representative of the woman leader of Oyingbo market said.
“We do not have electricity in this market, we use a generator and we contribute to buy it. We used to have light but for about three years there was no light in this Oyingbo market,” she said, blaming Eko Electricity, the power distributor to the area.
She urged the government to provide water for the market as traders buy it to flush the toilets. She noted that the drainage system should be done by the government.
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Expert speaks
Munachi Ugochukwu, economic and gender justice lead at Governance and Rights programme, Christian Aid (UK) Nigeria, said: “This issue emphasises the overarching concern with the gender blindness of the Nigerian tax system (laws, policies and administrative processes) and that of its subnational units and more specifically its lack of acknowledgement of the unpaid care responsibilities of women in the informal sector.”
He pointed out that the informal sector provides livelihoods for about 80 percent of the Nigerian labour force and 82 percent of women operate in the sector.
“It is unfair and unequitable for the presumptive tax laws, which govern business operators in the informal economy, to assess and impose flat tax rates across all genders within similar informal business categories regardless of the disparities in income, consumption expenditure and women’s responsibility of unpaid care,” he said.
At the policy level, there is a lack of emphasis and political commitment towards acknowledging gendered concerns and making gender-specific infrastructural provisions, according to Ugochukwu.
“Taxation and governance are two sides of the same coin. And the government’s best way to address tax compliance issues is firstly by demonstrating accountability for the taxes paid,” he said.
He said these could be achieved through tax for service agreements, which he described as “a veritable tool for promoting equity, transparency, accountability and citizens’ participation in governance.
“Tax for service agreements hold the potential to promote social contracts and equity in resource allocation, improve access to service delivery and build public trust in the system leading to tax compliance and increased tax revenues,” Ugochukwu said.
He said it would serve the best interests of the Lagos state government to work with market association leaderships to facilitate consensus around identifying priority projects in the markets, and allocating a percentage of their tax payments to the provision of the identified projects.
“Efforts should also be made by CSOs to engage these constituencies towards building their knowledge and capacities to advocate for such arrangements and by the media to amplify the instrumentality and benefits of the same,” he said.
LIRS responds
Folasade Coker, director of the Informal Sector and Special Duties at Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), said in an interview that the majority of people in the informal sector do not know how to calculate the percentages they pay as tax.
“To bring the people in the informal sector to the tax net, the government decided to charge them a token of N8,100 per annum and it can be paid by installments to make it convenient for them. A receipt will be issued for any payment made,” she said.
Coker noted, “We have been able to leverage on these associations to make our work easier. The heads of these markets are also working with us to ensure we reach out to as many who are willing and ready to pay their taxes like Iya Oloja, Igbo Traders Association, and as the cooperation strengthens, things will improve.”
Women, especially those in the informal sector, are said to often bear the brunt of the problem of taxes due to the ignorance of their tax obligations and the amount expected to be paid.
Women, who make up most of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, have a major challenge of multiple taxation.
A report by PwC Nigeria shows that women account for 41 percent ownership of micro-businesses in Nigeria, with 23 million female entrepreneurs operating within this segment.
Market women who have families, despite their impact on the Nigerian economy, are adversely affected and are being crippled by multiple taxes.
Globally, the major source of funds to run government organs effectively has always been through revenue generated directly or indirectly through taxes.
Tax itself is a compulsory (which makes its evasion punishable) contribution to state revenue and is levied by the government on salary, business profits, transactions and even on services.
Research carried out by the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria on why these taxes exist says the root of multiple taxations was linked to greed, perceived unfair revenue formula and the quest to boost internally generated revenue of states and local councils.
Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily recently, said the numerous taxes levied at various government levels are making life difficult for Nigerians.
“We do not understand why we have so many taxes in Nigeria, just creating problems for everyone,” he said.
According to Oyedele, taxing rights at all levels of government need to be properly defined and addressed to the roots, starting with the country’s constitution.
“We want to go into the constitution itself and address the problem from the roots. Let’s put it there and let it be clear. Clearly define the taxing rights at the different levels of government—this should be what you can collect—from local government to state to federal and here are your responsibilities,” he said.
This report was made possible with support from the International Budget Partnership (IBP) and the International Centre for Investigative reporting (ICIR)
