The Chairman of Cross River State Anti-tax Agency, Bishop Emmah Isong, has appealed to politicians to stop sponsoring touts to molest the poorest of the poor through illegal levies and taxation, saying illegal taxation are impacting negatively on the economy of the state with thousand of businessmen relocating to other states.
Isong, who is also the National Publicity Secretary of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and Presiding Bishop of the Calabar-based Christian Central Chapel Int’l (CCCI), made the appeal, recently in Calabar in a chat with Journalists.
He said that recent development over the matter had shown that powerful politicians were real masterminds and sponsors of the illegal levies, saying the state would benefit more if everyman would join hands with Governor Ben Ayade to end the menace.
“You can now see why His Excellency appointed only Pastors and clerics to handle the anti-tax fight. It never dawned on us what we were brought into until we hit the ground running. We have come to discover that it is Mr. Otu’s goat that ate Mr. Otu’s yam. The touts on the streets oppressing and beating up old market women because of collecting levies are people’s workers.
“They are being sent to those revenue points by people, particularly politicians. The agents are placed in those places as rewards for electoral victories. That explains why activities of illegal taxes and levies surge immediately after elections. His Excellency has also come to discover the political timber and caliber behind illegal taxation in the state. The narrative is that those guys on the streets perpetrating this act are chips of the old block.
“Since we started arresting those violators of anti-tax law, we have been receiving calls from the big and mighty for us to soft-pedal. What we are going to do is that we will hold unto the cubs until the mother lion comes out, but we do hope they’ll repent. I appeal to those sponsoring those illegal tax agents to cooperate with the state government and stop such acts for the interest of the economy of the state.”

By: Friday Nwagbara, Calabar