Kogi Bakers Protest Levy on Every Loaf of Bread
…Levy not new. We are only enforcing it to protect Indigenous bakers- Govt
Ruth Omosayin
Bakers in Kogi State are protesting the levy on every loaf of bread baked in the state by the the State Government.
The State Ministry of Commerce and Industry said the levy is aimed at improving the internally generated revenue.
But the state chapter of the Association of Master bakers and Caterers of Nigeria (AMBCN) told TheCable on Thursday that the bakers are against the levy.
An executive member of the association simply identified as Godfirst said the association has begun moves to meet with the consultant the state charged with collecting the fee.
Godfirst said they received a memo from the ministry imposing a levy to be paid “on each loaf of bread” produced.
“The letter was sent to us that a consultant has been given the job to generate fund from bakery to state government; to generate revenue to (for the) state government,” he said.
“We are trying to meet with the consultant but we have not been able to meet with him. We want to meet with him to give us more explanation.”
He said bakers in the state are experiencing hardship occasioned by the pandemic and will not be able to meet the new demand.
“We are not happy about it, presently there is no market. We are facing different types of challenges, and if they are now asking us to pay another tax, we don’t know how we can cope,” he said.
But in a swift reaction, the State Government debunked news making the rounds that it introduced fresh levies on bread makers in the state, stating that the said levy has been in existence for long, and is only being enforced on bakers outside the state who import bread without paying the levy.
The State’s Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mr. Kingsley Fanwo while making this clarification to newsman in Lokoja on Friday said, the move was to protect indigenous bakers who suffer in the hands of bakers from other states that dump their products in the state without paying levies.
His statement read; “We have seen and read news reports about a letter from a consultant engaged by the Kogi State Government to collect bakery levies.
“Let us place on record that the levies are not new. Indigenous bakeries have been paying all their levies to the State Government in compliance to our revenue law.
“The recent letter was one of our strategies at protecting our Indigenous bakers and also protect our economy from the activities of bakers outside the State who bring their bread to the State without paying any form of levy.
“No responsible Government will sit by and watch her indigenous businesses lose the local market. Our indigenous bakers have complained bitterly about the activities of external bakers who packed their bread to the State in trucks and sell without paying anything to the State Government.
“Poor sales by our bakers may lead to job losses, a situation we are determined to use legitimate means to avert.
As a Government, we have put in place tax relief measures to protect businesses from the unfortunate fangs of the Covid-19 pandemic.
We are not insensitive to the plight of business owners at this critical period. Relevant Ministries, Agencies and Parastatals shall continue to engage business owners to ensure government policies are tailored towards improving business health and wealth.
“We assure the Master Bakers of our open door policy and our readiness to keep listening to them in order to smoothen relationships and factors aiding their production as bread consumers have nothing to fear”.
Fanwo added that the present administration in the State has, through her policies has supervised a steady increase in the number of businesses, adding that government will continue to work for the people, with the people and also continue to listen to all interests.