The Lagos Government on Monday said it would not
hesitate to seal the properties of residents who default in paying their Land
Use Charge (LUC), just as it warned that it may explore the option of
prosecuting defaulters according to the Law.
Addressing journalists at the Bagauda Kaltho Press
Centre in Alausa Secretariat, Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Mustapha Akinkunmi,
disclosed that the State Government has put in place a variety of payment
options which included paying at the bank or the nearest Land Use Charge
offices to residents using cash or POS or payment online through credit or
debit cards.
Akinkunmi, who apologised for the delay in the
distribution of the bills this year, attributed it to the need to clean up the
data sets which were previously in operation, adding that a more robust clearer
data sets were now in place.
He however said despite the delay in the delivery
of the bills, tax payers are still entitled to the usual 15 percent discounted
rate if payment is made within 15 days of bill delivery, while others who pay
outside the 15 days grace not exceeding 30 calendar days would pay the actual
due amount.
He said that failure to do that would attract
penalty from the 45th day after bill delivery and rise further
afterwards, and that properties in such category would be sealed, while owners
would be prosecuted in court in accordance with the law.
“Payment of Land Use Charge is a requirement of
law and property tax. Defaulters will have their properties sealed and are
liable to be prosecuted in court,” Akinkunmi said.
The Commissioner, also clarified the debate on who
should be liable to pay Land Use Charge, stating that by law, the onus falls on
land owners/landlords to pay LUC and not the tenants.
He said, “It is the landlords that are expected to
pay the Charge. They can have agreements with their tenants, but from the
government’s perspective, it is the landlord that the law recognises in paying
the Charge,” he said.
He counseled residents to desist from patronizing
touts or any official in a bid to cut corners on the payment of Land Use
Charge, just as it urged people to imbibe the culture of willful payment of
taxes.
He said the process of payment of the charge has
been fully automated by the government; hence residents should stop patronizing
touts henceforth in other to avoid paying twice.
“I would like to appeal to all property owners to
stop encouraging such habit. The Land Use Charge is totally automated because
we have records of all properties in the state. I would encourage all property
owners to go through normal procedure of payments to the government. If you go
through any other means whether through back door or any other means, such is
at your own risk,” Akinkunmi warned.
He said percentage payable based on owner-occupied
is 0.0394 percent of the value of the property, while the percentage for
industrial, educational, residential properties occupied by owners and third
parties is 0.132 percent.
Commercial and residential properties occupied by
third parties, according to Akinkunmi would pay 0.394 percent of the value of
the property.
While clarifying the methodology adopted in
determining the value of a property, the Commissioner said the value of
properties vary with location, hence the Ministry has a template for carrying
out valuation process.
He said: “There is a Valuation Department in place
at the Ministry of Finance and they have the methodology of how they do the
calculation of the property. We now use the ratio as the percentage earlier
mentioned.”
He also warned against harassment of government
officials by residents in the course of carrying out their lawful duties.
He said: “The full wrath of the law will be
invoked on any resident who assaults a Lagos State official in this regard. If
a resident suspects that a person is impersonating a Lagos State official,
please report them to the Office of Finance, Ministry of Finance in Alausa or
to the Police.”
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