The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has urged the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) and other government bodies against alleged plans to impose a N100,000 levy on bakeries and other businesses.
The ACCI president, Dr Al-Mujtaba Abubakar, disclosed this in a statement.
He called the attention of the Abuja area council to the current high inflation rate.
Ahmed Haruna, AMAC director of public health, has explained that the new levy was subject to negotiation with an approved partner of the council.
He said that the levy was for discharge of “harmful hazardous substances” into the air, water and land by the bakeries.
According to him, failure to comply with the directive is a “punishable offence”, and could lead to the arrest of the operator and suspension of the bakery’s activities.
The ACCI said that the imposition of such levies would further increase the cost of doing business in the territory.
He urged the council to explore other means of raising revenue such as public-private partnership, among others.
“Imposition of new taxes like the generator and equipment taxes will not only be an additional burden to be borne by business owners, it will accelerate the collapse of more businesses, deepen unemployment and further hike inflation rate in the country.”
According to him, the chamber has already written a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari and other relevant authorities, calling for harmonisation of taxes for SMEs.