Private school owners seek tax waiver | EduCeleb
EduCeleb
27th January 2021
Private school owners in Edo State have sought a waiver of taxes and renewal fees to cushion the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and last year’s #EndSARS protests.
They made the plea in a statement signed by chairmen of the Edo State chapter of the Association of Private School Owners of Nigeria (APSON) and Association for Formidable Educational Development (AFED), Bishop Ohis Emmanuel Elakhe and Osagie Erhunmwunse.
The proprietors also urged the state and Federal governments to provide palliatives for its staff members whose data could be sourced from the Edo State Inland Revenue Service (ESIRS) Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) record.
The groups appealed to the state government to ensure the safe reopening of schools on 1st February, 2021, saying: “Because this will enable our final year students to join their counterparts in the country to enroll for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) scheduled for April 2021.”
While commending the Edo State Government for its pragmatic approach to curtail the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the group expressed concern over what it described as ‘selective’ closure of schools till February 1, 2021.
“Whereas schools remain the most coordinated environment for effective containment of the virus, we are shocked that stakeholders in the education sector were excluded from the meeting that adopted opening of markets, worship places and holding of social events, but consented to the continued closure of schools,” the statement reads.