Lagos’ll implement VAT law despite Appeal Court’s ‘maintain status quo’ —Lawmaker
A member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Setonji David, has maintained that despite a stay of execution by the Appeal Court in Abuja last Friday, the state will proceed with the implementation of its recently assented VAT Law.
The lawmaker, who represents Badagry II Constituency in the House, stated this on Monday when he appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s ‘Sunrise Daily’ breakfast programme.
VAT is a consumption tax paid when goods are purchased and services are rendered. It is charged at a rate of 7.5 per cent.
Following Rivers State which signed its VAT bill into law last month, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, last Friday, signed the State VAT Bill into law a day after it was passed by the Lagos State House of Assembly.
On the same day, Lagos asked to be joined as a respondent alongside Rivers State in the appeal filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service challenging the judgment of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt which ruled that Rivers should commence VAT collection.
Justice Haruna Tsammani of the Appeal Court had adjourned to September 16 to hear the application by Lagos and asked all parties to “maintain status quo”.
Speaking on the television programme on Monday, David said that Lagos would continue the implementation of the VAT law pending any order by the Appeal Court ruling otherwise. The lawmaker said, “in Lagos we have clamoured for true federalism. This is consumption tax from the people of Lagos and it should be domiciled in Lagos and used for the people of Lagos. There are so many hassles that have to do with Federalism that we are practicing.
“We generate over 55 percent of the VAT in Nigeria and we get a paltry sum of 10%. Is that fair for a population of over 24 million. We are happy that the Rivers State Government went to court and the court was very clear that VAT was supposed to be a state affair. We have no choice but to follow suit.”
Asked whether Lagos State would go ahead with the implementation of the law despite the Court of Appeal’s ’maintain status quo’ ruling, the lawmaker said, “the status quo is that we enacted the law in Lagos and the law is in existence and I believe strongly that until another Judgment is passed by the Court of Appeal to the extent that what we have done is wrong, the law subsists.
By our understanding, what subsists in Lagos is our own law, until that law is set aside by the Court of Appeal. So, as far as Lagos is concerned, VAT in Lagos will be collected by the Lagos State Government”.
