Fayose condemns FG increment of workers’ PAYE tax, others, urges reversal

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has called on the federal government to rescind its decision to reduce workers salary through obnoxious increment in Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax, pension and National Housing Fund (NHF) deductions, which were applied on gross salary, making some of the workers to have as much 30 per cent reduction in salary.

The governor said it was wicked and inhuman for any government to increase taxes on workers salary at this period of economic recession when “workers take home can no longer take them home,” adding that; “The federal government should stop believing that the only way it can take Nigeria out of recession is to impose obnoxious taxes that will further impoverish the people.”

In a release issued on Sunday by the governor’s Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, he said; “If government does not have capacity to increase workers salary at this trying period, it should not also increase taxes that will cause decrement in what workers earn.”

Salary of federal government workers was reportedly reduced through increment in PAYE tax, pension, National Housing Fund (NHF), formerly based on consolidated, which were applied on gross salary. Some of the workers had as much as 30 per cent pay cut.

Reacting, Governor Fayose said it appeared that the President Mohammadu Buhari led All Progressives Congress (APC) federal government’s desire was to kill Nigerians with obnoxious taxes.

He said; “As military head of state, Buhari used gun to deal with Nigerians, now as a civilian president, he is using economic recession to punish Nigerians and adding salt to injury by using inhuman taxes to reduce workers salary.

“Buhari’s government increased petrol price from N87 to N145 per litre, kerosene; diesel and gas price was increased, electricity tariff was increased, N50 stamp duty was imposed on bank customers, N65 levy was imposed on every withdrawal on ATM, various bank charges introduced, custom duties increased and now workers’ PAYE tax has been increased.

“I sympathise with the federal government workers who only got to know about reduction of their salaries when they got credit alert last month, but they should remember that I warned them.

“Workers are already facing hardships owing to the economic recession, which has caused exchange rate to rise to as much as N480 to $1. The implication of this is that the purchasing power of a worker that is earning say N100,000 per month has reduced to less than N50,000 per month, meaning what such a worker bought at N10,000 this time last year is now should at N25,000.

“I therefore call on the federal government to reverse this decision so as to reduce the level at which the workers are suffering.”