The Yobe government says it will tax 5.7 million cows, goats, poultry, and other animals under the newly introduced livestock tax.

On July 15, the government said it introduced cattle tax to boost the state’s internally generated revenues. The decision to introduce the cattle tax followed Executive Order No. 3, recently signed by Governor Mai Mala-Buni.

Idris Madaki, Yobe Advisory Committee for Collection of Livestock Tax’s secretary, said the government was targeting over 5.7 million livestock, including cattle, camels, horses, donkeys, sheep and goats.

”Under the programme, a cow, camel and a horse would be taxed N500 per annum; N200 is the levy for a donkey.

”A goat or sheep would be taxed N100 each,” he explained.

Mr Madaki, also the Yobe Pilot Livestock Development Programme manager, added that the government had mandated traditional rulers to collect the taxes and remit them to its coffers.

“The tax is for all livestock and not only cattle. It is important to make this clarification. For the sedentary livestock owners, they will pay the taxes to their ward heads, while the itinerant herdsmen will pay the same to the district heads,” added Mr Madaki. “By this, the itinerant herdsmen are expected to have a kind of formal introduction with the local traditional authorities.”

According to him, the traditional institutions will use their internal mechanisms and local structures to ensure compliance.

Baba Wali, the Secretary to the State Government, at a recent sensitisation exercise, noted that the tax would also mitigate farmer-herder violent clashes.

“At a security meeting held by the governor and critical stakeholders sometime in March, the National Chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) proposed the introduction of cattle tax in the state,” Mr Wali pointed out.

He added, “If a herdsman pays tax for a total of 100 cows in 2021, and in 2022 he is seen with 200 cows, he will definitely have some explanation to make.”

(NAN)