By Blessing Odega
The Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Plateau branch, has advised the state government to leverage property or land taxation to boost its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
Mr Emmanuel Adeleke, Plateau NIESV Chairman, gave the advice on Friday in Jos at its annual lecture with the theme “Evaluating the Current Land-Based Taxes as a Panacea for Economic Growth of Plateau.”
Adeleke stated that as the revenues of government at various levels dwindled, it was imperative for the state government to unlock the inherent potential in property taxation to increase the state’s IGR.
He pointed out that revenue from property or land taxes, if well administered, could constitute a veritable source of public expenditure.
The resource person, Mr Simeon Anokwuru, said that land taxation has remained a revenue head that was grossly underutilised by most state governments.
Anokwuru identified ground rent, planning charges, capital gains tax, withholding tax, stamp duty, consent fees, registration fees, development charges/levy, registration of business premises, and tenement rates as types of property/land taxes in Nigeria.
The chairman said that for any state government to adopt the system of land charges, it must embark on a comprehensive valuation and assessment.
He said that doing so would lead to the compilation of property revenue registers, particularly within the urban and semi-urban centres.
Anokwuru opined that some of the best practices for the property tax reform system were the use of up-to-date physical and legal cadastres that document information on the features and ownership of all plots and immovable properties.
The chairman said that the cadastres are usually developed by the land authorities during the process of land rights registration and formalisation.
He added that the use of property assessment reforms would enhance valuation capacity, including investments in software, model development, and technical staff training, which could yield significant returns from property tax.
He called on the government to embark on aggressive public awareness campaigns about property taxation to enable it to harness the benefit. NAN
