Lagos State Deputy Governor and All Progressives Congress governorship candidate for the 2027 election, Obafemi Hamzat, has unveiled plans to harmonise tax collection across the state and end multiple taxation.
He promised a single payment system and a 48-hour response to taxpayers’ complaints.
Hamzat said the proposed arrangement would involve working with local governments to establish a unified tax schedule, ensuring that residents and businesses would not be subjected to multiple demands after paying their taxes.
He spoke at a town hall meeting organised by BusinessDay on Friday, where he outlined his proposed tax reforms ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
The deputy governor said the Federal Government had reduced the number of taxes from 63 to nine through its tax reforms, adding that Lagos State was working to harmonise its tax system with the new framework.
He explained that the arrangement would take into account the constitutional independence of local governments and the Supreme Court’s position on their status as a separate tier of government.
He said, “What Lagos State is doing, I agree with you, my brother, is now harmonising it. Because the Constitution and the Supreme Court’s ruling that the local governments are a separate government. So that’s the ruling of the land.
“Therefore, what we are doing is to harmonise. Talk to local government and make sure that that nine is what is harmonising. That is the practical system. Knowing what exactly exists.”
Hamzat said the proposed system was intended to address complaints from residents and business owners who often struggled to identify the taxes they were required to pay.
He recalled an encounter with a woman who told him that she wanted the government to provide a clear list of her tax obligations so she could make the necessary payments without further demands.
“Now, a woman told me when I was going, I said, let me just know what I need to pay. If I pay, leave me alone. I think that’s a fair request and I intend to honour it,” he said.
He promised to introduce a unified tax schedule that would be accessible to taxpayers, insisting that no one should be required to pay levies outside the approved list.
“So that’s our promise, to make sure that taxes harmonise from 63 to just nine. And one schedule that everybody can see, if it’s not on the list, you are not paying it,” he said.
The APC candidate also promised to establish a complaint centre where residents could report cases of multiple taxation and other irregularities involving tax officials.
He said complaints submitted through the proposed platform would receive responses within 48 hours, adding that the commitment was included in his manifesto.
Hamzat further cited the challenges associated with transporting food into Lagos, saying the state produced only five per cent of the food it consumed.
According to him, traders transporting food from other states often encountered multiple collections along their routes before arriving in Lagos, although the state had no control over levies imposed outside its territory.
He said the proposed harmonisation would ensure that once a taxpayer made the required payment in Lagos, the relevant authorities, including local governments, could verify it and avoid demanding additional payments.
The deputy governor also referred to complaints involving rent and other issues, saying Lagos State already had laws addressing some of the concerns but needed to ensure that residents could report violations and that the government responded appropriately.