Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina of State has criticized Lagos and Rivers States over their stance on tax revenue collection.
Masari said both Rivers and Lagos States would not have huge revenues without contributions from other states.
The governor described the move by both states as a joke because they rely on the population of other states to boost their economies.
Masari said:
What is Lagos without the rest of Nigeria? The market Lagos is boasting of is dependent on the larger part of the country. Benin Republic has a port, Togo has a port; do they have the population to back up the ports? Without us providing the demand part, what will be Lagos?
VAT serves them and us. We provide the bulk of the market because without the rest of the states, what is Lagos or Port Harcourt?
Any state that thinks it can survive in isolation is joking. We provide the demand that makes Lagos what it is.
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Both Lagos and Rivers States have moved to take over the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
Although the matter is currently before the Appeal and Supreme Court, Southern governors have thrown their weight behind their Lagos and Rivers counterparts.
The Southern governors’ position on VAT came on a day Lagos State Government, maintained in court that it has the constitutional right to collect Value Added Tax and not the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS.
This is even as Ogun State House of Assembly said the proposed State Value Added Tax Law, 2021, remains one of its legislative initiatives designed to achieve fiscal restructuring in the country to further ensure equity and fairness in revenue sharing among federating units.
