The Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) has called on the federal government to impose tax on the real estate sector to generate income.
The association also noted that government could generate income through taxes, levies and fees, stressing that land-based taxes are good sources of income for the government.
It argued that there about 15 different charges in the real estate sector that can be used to generate income and urged the government to tap into them.
NIESV made this position known in a paper delivered by its Faculty of Land Administration and Geographic Information System ( LAGIS) recently at the Conference of Directors of Land in the Federal and State Ministries, Departments and Agencies in Abuja.
It said: “Government can generate income from real estate sector by imposing taxes, levies and fees on its products. Land-based taxes, levies and fees are good sources of income for government. There are over 15 different charges in the real estate sector that can be used to generate income.
“Also, real estate can be used as collateral security for loans. Government can create wealth by acquiring land and developing them into industrial, residential and commercial estates”.
The association, which also called for the legislation against unoccupied houses in Nigeria, said that a lot of capital is being tied with the unoccupied houses, explaining that the law if enacted would ensure that the completed houses are occupied.
In the paper entitled: “The imperative of land governance for national economic advancement and sustainable development in Nigeria’’, the association said: “There are too many completed but unoccupied buildings in Nigeria. A lot of capital is tied down in these structures. Governments can make a law that will ensure that all completed structures are occupied by users”.
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