EFFECTS OF PROPERTY TAX ON SUSTAINABLE HOUSING DELIVERY IN NIGERIA

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EFFECTS OF PROPERTY TAX ON SUSTAINABLE HOUSING DELIVERY IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Increasing demand for urban and rural infrastructures and dwindling revenue allocations in Nigeria have informed the Lagos State Government to promulgate Land Use Charge Law (2001) as a way of increasing internally-generated revenues through property tax. The Law stipulates a formula for assessing the Charge payable on properties in Lagos State, amongst other provisions. The aim of this paper is to determine the short- and long- term effects of the law on housing delivery which is one of the thematic areas of Vision 20:2020 for Nigeria. A process of inferences was adopted to evaluate the law in addition to questionnaires administered on Estate Surveyors and Valuers within Lagos metropolis. The study found that the formula is inappropriate and that high tax and penalties may discourage investment in new housing and maintenance of existing stock. It therefore recommended a review of the Law and in addition suggested an appropriate basis of fair and equitable tax such that the goal of Vision 20:2020 can be realizable.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Human society the world over is heavily dependent on land and its resources. It is not an overstatement to say that without land there would be no human existence. This is because it is from land that man gets items very essential for his survival such as food, fuel, clothing, shelter, medication and others [1]. Omotola succinctly puts it thus: Every person requires land for his support, preservation and self-actualization within the general ideals of the society. Land is the foundation of shelter, food and employment. Man lives on land during his life and upon his demise, his remains are kept in it permanently. Even where the remains are cremated, the ashes eventually settle on land. It is therefore crucial to the existence of the individual and the society. It is inseparable from the concept of the society. Man has been aptly described as a land animal [2].

It is, also from land that government, through property taxation, generates some of its revenue from which its survival depends, both in providing infrastructure and development of the society. From the foregoing, it is obvious that the life of man and that of the society revolve around land and its resources. Thus, it is apposite that man’s fulfillment of his potentials in life, including that of government, depends, largely, on their relationship with land. Global recognition of the relevance of land to the society can be gleaned from the proceedings at the United Nations Conference on Human Settlement (Habitat II) 1996 where many countries committed themselves to: promoting optimal use of productive land in urban and rural areas and protecting fragile ecosystems and environmentally vulnerable areas from the negative impacts of human settlements, inter alia, through developing and supporting the implementation of improved land management practices that deal comprehensively with potentially competing land requirements for agriculture, industry, transport, urban development, green space, protected areas and other vital needs

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