There is growing outrage among small business owners in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, as reports emerge of excessive taxation threatening the survival of low-income traders.
One trader recently revealed that despite paying just ₦60,000 per year for shop rent, the Ebonyi State Government tax authorities served him a signpost bill of ₦50,000 with a seven-day deadline, sparking public condemnation and renewed questions about the state’s economic priorities.
According to the complaint shared by journalist Wisdom Nwedene, the shop owner had already fulfilled several other tax obligations, including ₦8,200 for a local government signpost levy, ₦14,000 for business premise waste management, ₦10,500 for the government-mandated waste bucket, and ₦15,500 for the environmental task force levy. These taxes, all paid on top of the modest ₦60,000 annual rent, have left the trader overwhelmed and on the brink of closing shop.
“The person has paid for this same tax at the local government level and still received a new ₦50,000 bill from the state. This is not sustainable. Haba,” Nwedene lamented in a statement posted online. “Some of the people collecting these taxes don’t even own shops, so they can’t understand the pain.”
Beyond these listed taxes, the affected trader is reportedly in possession of other receipts, indicating there may be additional levies that have not yet come to light. The financial pressure has pushed many small business owners in the area into distress, with some considering shutting down their businesses entirely.
This situation has sparked debate among residents and economic observers about the investment climate in Ebonyi State. Critics argue that overburdening micro and small enterprises with overlapping taxes—often from both local and state authorities—undermines efforts to attract investors and foster local economic growth.
“Ebonyi State is looking for investors, yet those of us with small shops are being taxed into poverty. This is not how to build a state,” another trader commented anonymously.
As inflation and economic uncertainty continue to bite across Nigeria, stakeholders are calling on the Ebonyi State Government to urgently review its taxation policies, particularly as they relate to low-income traders and small-scale entrepreneurs. For many, the dream of running a small business is fast becoming a nightmare due to the weight of multiple, often duplicated, levies.