Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi on Monday ordered the commissioner for Lands and Survey to moderate house rent in the state.
The governor gave this directive in Abakaliki, the state capital during a Town Hall meeting with stakeholders on Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
Umahi also suspended the collection of consolidated revenue, income tax and property rates in the state until further notice, saying this was to enable harmonisation and address grey issues of multiple taxation perpetrated by illegal tax collectors.
He ordered that collection of revenue in arrears should stop, maintaining that government would not allow the oppression of anybody.
“All income tax are hereby suspended until further notice. We will advocate for an operation to catch them.
“No collection of tax from market women without shops in the market and anyone culpable will be sentenced to five years in prison,” Mr Umahi said.
The governor also suspended the collection of tax and revenue from hawkers and abolished revenue collection across the local government areas and all activities of revenue contractors.
He approved N150 million grant for market women without shops in the state capital and urged each local council in the state to assist petty traders.
He directed that all revenue collectors in the state appear in their uniforms for easy identification.
Umahi directed the Deputy Governor, Kelechi Igwe, to set up a committee on revenue to hold a meeting with market women, traders, council chairmen, traditional rulers and other stakeholders to come up with an acceptable revenue they were to pay.
