Cab drivers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have condemned what they termed excessive taxes and other levies being charged by Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) officials on their members and charged the authorities to help them put the officials in check.
Specifically, they lamented over the daily sundry charges being imposed on them by the revenue officials, particularly when substantial parts of such collections are not remitted to the coffers of the council.
Irked by the alleged exploitative approach of the revenue officials, the drivers, who threatened to stop paying taxes into AMAC’s purse, hinted that they were already making arrangements to be paying taxes directly to the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS).
Speaking with journalists on the vexatious issues, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Painted Commercial Taxi Abuja Drivers’ Association (PAT), Shehu Shugaba Yar’adua, lamented that despite their complaints, the AMAC authorities failed to call the revenue officials to order.
Yar’adua, who disclosed that a driver in his union usually pays a minimum of N200 daily, pointed out that despite the amount paid nothing was being done by the AMAC authorities to support the members or take care of their welfare as taxpayers.
He explained: “AMAC is not doing anything at all as regard to our welfare, despite the money the collect from us, 200 naira daily, we are not benefiting anything from AMAC.
“We were in court with AMAC before 2015 election, challenging their powers to collect money from us but when the present Government came, he pleaded with us to withdraw the case,so that they can listen to us but up till this moment nothing has be done concerning us.
“There is no taxi park, no taxi rounds where the taxis we stay before the pick up passengers, the also promised they will that they will make a pronouncement that painted taxi will be allowed to enter the estates but as I am talking to you, most of the estates don’t allow taxis to enter and this is a taxi approved by the government which is wrong”, the drivers’ leader lamented.
Yar’adua explained that following the failure of the AMAC authorities to attend to their complaints, the union members would explore the option of paying their taxes to the Federal Inland Revenue Service since the latter is more transparent and accountable towards the welfare of her people.
He expressed the hope that if the union succeeded in paying taxes directly to the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the burden of the members, some of who have now been collecting their Tax Identification Numbers (TINs), would be substantially reduced.
