Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has said that the FCT administration’s biggest challenge is the voluntary tax non-compliance by those living in Abuja.
Wike stated that most of the supposed ‘Big Men living in the FCT or have houses in Nigeria’s capital city do not like to pay their ground rent.
According to Wike, these property owners, despite the income they make from their houses still do not comply with the stipulated payment of taxes.
Speaking during the commissioning of the newly constructed Collector Road CN2 (Zakari A. Kyari Street) in Abuja, Wike said most of these Big Men own houses in the United Kingdom and the United States of America but would never default on their taxes.
He, however, stated that when it comes to their properties in Nigeria, non-compliance with the payment of tax becomes the order of the day.
He further stated that most of the infrastructural development being carried out within the FCT is done with the taxes and ground rent paid by responsible property owners.
He said, “For those who said we sealed their houses for not paying ground rent, see the value; see the product of paying ground rent.
“If you don’t pay, nobody will provide this infrastructure because the only thing the city has is just to collect taxes. People say Abuja is rich. How rich is it?” he queried.
The article was originally published on Politics Nigeria.
