Governor Masari of Katsina State

Abdullahi Shugaba

The Katsina State Government has introduced Community Development Levy and Cattle Tax ‘Jangali’ in the state.

Alhaji Faruk Jobe, Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing newsmen after the State Executive Council meeting presided by Gov. Aminu Masari.

Jobe said that the committee set up to fashion out modalities for payment of the taxes have submitted its report to the council.

“After receiving the report, we resolved that each adult in the state including non indigenes as well as male and female civil servants are to pay N2,000 each as development levy annually.

“For the cattle levy, ‘Jangali,’ every cow owner will pay N500 per each cow yearly, we are going to push the matter to the State House of Assembly for legislative process,” he said.

When asked, if it will not be a double taxation for civil servants to pay another tax after the one being deducted from their salaries, the commissioner said that the civil servant tax was “pay as you earn”.

According to him, the one the state government introduced is a “development levy”, so they are different altogether .

He added that married women who were not working would be excluded while working class women would also pay.

The commissioner explained that the development was not new in the state as it had been in existence but because of political reasons it was abolished in 1979.

”And now, we have brought it back” .

“Before we commence, government will take a biometric data of all adults in the state to know those who will pay and those that will not.

“The data will provide us with necessary information, address, business, and other relevant information about the tax payers,” he added.

Jobe noted that the same thing would be applicable to the cattle owners, as the data will provide information on the number of cows and where the owners reside.

The commissioner, however, revealed that the state government took the measure to check insecurity such as  banditry, cattle rustling, stealing, kidnapping and other criminalities across the state