Body Wants Mortgage Instituations Exempled From Tax

The Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN) in its bid to ensure effective and efficient housing delivery and orderly urban development in the country, has urged the government to exempt Primary Mortgage Institutions (PMIs) in the payment of tax.

APBN  also reiterated its call for the creation of a Nigerian Construction Industry Board (NCIB) and also the establishment of a Construction Development Bank (CDB) to provide credit facilities  at low interest rate for development of housing and urban sectors and also  inject the needed funds into the dying construction industry.

Joseph Ajanlekoko, the President of the association in a speech at a ceremony to induct newly  registered quantity surveyors and  practicing firms in Abuja organised by Quantity Surveyors Registration Board of Nigeria (QSRBN), said that the tax law should be amended to ensure that instead of the mortgage institution to pay the tax, it would be the beneficiaries that would pay the tax.

“We believe that people who own their homes for the first time should have  some tax concession. Once these laws are amended, it will take off. The banks and the mortgage institutions  will all go out for it. Demand for homes in Nigeria  is enormous, if you bring five million homes today and there is mortgage availability, it will be taken in two days. It is like that in every part of the country”, he said.

The APBN boss also stated that the proposed Nigerian Construction and Urban Development  Bank (NC/UDB) holds promise for the mortgaged sector  and other members  of the public, especially construction industry operators.

Ajanlekoko posited that this arrangement would instill confidence and stability in the mortgage system and ensure sustainability of the PMIs, pointing out that mortgage institution would be able to provide credit at low interest for purchase of housing under the aegis of the Nigerian Construction Industry and Urban Development Bank, as well as provide credit facilities for all activities associated with housing construction, infrastructural  and urban development.

The APBN  president, a promoter of the NCIB noted that the development of a virile construction industry requires a holistic approach, involving the private sector and the public.

He, therefore, urged the government in the spirit of the on-going reforms programme to give the desired leadership and direction to this important and strategic industry by establishing  the board.