Lagos State has issued notice that they can compel tenants to pay Taxes of their landlords directly to government.

 

Lagos State has issued notice that they can compel tenants to pay Taxes of their landlords directly to government.

To me, the notice reads like pure desperation.

Compelling tenants to pay a landlord’s tax directly raises serious concerns. It blurs private contractual relationships and shifts the burden of enforcement from the state to ordinary citizens who have no leverage over property owners. 

This will definitely risks abuse, confusion, and endless disputes between landlords and tenants.

The best way should be to ask tenants to submit a form detailing the name and addresses of their landlord and how much they pay per year, So that rogue high-rent urban landlords who earn substantial rental income but stay outside the tax net will be caught.

This is a revenue desperation.

A government confident in its enforcement capacity would go after landlords directly.