Hotel owners forum lament multiple taxation By NAN

Image; mabuku

The Hotel Owners Forum Abuja (HOFA), has
decried the issue of multiple taxation imposed on
its members by government.
The President of HOFA, Dr Bola Onigbogi made
this known at the annual dinner of the forum in
Abuja on Friday.
She said that because if the visibility of hotel
business, it was easy for government agencies to
track them down for the enforcement of
numerous taxes.
“ A quick count of the amount of taxes we pay
shows that we pay over 30 different taxes in
Abuja. Can anyone survive this onslaught? Can
any business survive under this regulatory
environment? The answer is no.
“`The year started with a 40 per cent increase on
our electricity tariffs, then we were asked to pay
an additional five per cent of our revenue to a
new body call FCT Entertainment and Events
Centre Department.
“We have had to enter into discussion with Abuja
Municipal Council to discuss some of these tariffs
and taxes that they have levied on us this year.
“A combination of this punitive regulatory regime
and low sales has resulted in a cocktail of
hardship for hotels in 2015,’’ she said.
Onigbogi urged hotel regulators to be mindful of
all taxes levied on them, adding that as
stakeholders in the business, the association
should be consulted before such imposition of
taxes.
According to her, if HOFA is consulted before the
taxes are imposed, the forum will be able to
advise the regulatory bodies on what to do and
how best to implement them.
She said that the forum was also asking the
regulators to synchronize their activities so as to
solve the problem of multiple billing by agencies
on the same item.
“We should remind our regulators that HOFA is a
body of law-abiding corporate citizens. We will
always live up to our civic responsibilities as
stipulated but the law.
“But where we are confused as to the veracity of
any regulation, we will be forced to ask for an
interpretation from appropriate quarters.
“So we want to say that government should help
entrepreneurs survive in business if we must face
reality.
“In order to contribute our quota to the
development of the nation and to continue to
provide employment to our teeming youths,’’ she
said.
Speaking on security tips, the IGP Mr Solomon
Arase called on HOFA to ensure that their hotels
were well protected with the installations of CCTV
cameras and parameter fence.
Arase, represented by Mr Wilson Inalegu, the
Commissioner of Police, FCT said that vigilance
was required, especially at a time like this when
the nation “is going through security challenges’’.
He said that it was important for HOFA members
to know the police divisions around, so that they
would know where to contact in case of security
breach.
“Thank God hotels in Abuja are safe as most of
them have good security measures put in place
because they have been working with the police
to ensure this,’’ he said.
The IGP however emphasised that it was
important to take proper record of guests coming
into the hotels by ensuring that they produce
identity cards which include the National Identity.
He also advised them to do a biometric of all staff
working in their hotels for easy identification.