APPLICATION OF COMPREHENSIVE VALUE DATA BASE TECHNOLOGY (COMVADAB) TO PROPERTY TAXATION ADMINISTRATION IN NIGERIA

CHIKEZIE OKORONKWO ESQ., FNIVS, RSV, MNISM Head, Department Of Estate Management & Valuation, Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Imo State

ABSTRACT

The need for the levying of taxes on property cannot be over emphasized as it is a source of the much needed revenue required by the authorities of government for the execution of various capital projects. It is not often the assessment of tax that is of much concern to the authorities but the machineries of management for effective control and utilization. This paper examined the application of Comprehensive Value Data Base (COMVADAB) Technology to property taxation administration in Nigeria. The paper recognized Comprehensive Value Data Base (COMVADAB) Technology as one of the most modern and cost effective ways to property taxation administration in Nigeria. The paper concluded that government will be doing itself much good to embrace the technology as it one of the most secured ways of safe guarding the integrity of the rating authority, the compliance of the citizens to pay tax and the smooth running of government.

Key Words: Lasser, Infrastructural Development, Mapping, Hi-tech.

INTRODUCTION

There is no government that can function effectively without financial capability. This is so because finance is the most potent catalyst for sustainable transformation of any society. Not only does it provide the basis for socio-economic development and growth, it also enhances the well being of the citizenry. Proper reflection on the past clearly shows that in the pre-colonial times, the internally generated revenue existed in an organized form under the Emirs in the North, the Obas in the West and the Obis in the East.

It is in recognition of this obvious fact that the revenue accruing to government had to be such that will significantly enable it pay its workers, sail through its administration and formulate new programs as well as maintain its already existing populist projects. Such financial strength is achievable only through proper administration and collection of revenue accruable to government from contributions of patriotic and well meaning citizens and residents. The payment and collection of all forms of legitimate levies are an age long practice in the art of governance. Some of the sources of funding include foreign aids, humanitarian grants, income from government investment in commercial ventures, international trade and taxation. Of these sources, taxation is the most

important. It is so, because government has unlimited powers to impose taxes in any country.

TAX AND TAXATION

Tax is a compulsory contribution from individuals and business organizations meant to finance government expenditure. It is also a means of making the citizens contribute to the cost of providing collective needs. When used properly, taxation can serve as a potent investment for resource mobilization and allocation. It is through the tax system in particular that revenue can be generated to finance democratic governance.

The origin of modern taxation was the desire of the State or country to protect its citizens from the exploitation of the powerful. Indeed the foundation of taxation was erected on the fact that there were inequalities in the human society, which necessitated the intervention of the State. Resources had to be mustered to provide services that free enterprise and price economic system would not ordinarily address.

Tax and taxation are the very faces of the same coin that evolved out of

i. The need to ensure that the main task of government to the people in participatory democracies are fulfilled with adequate resources

ii. The need to ensure that incomes are redistributed in favour of the less privileged

iii. The need to ensure that people are continually educated and provided with health care sustenance mechanisms

iv. The need for social and economic infrastructures andv. The need to ensure stability in the economy by directing people’s investment

into areas of greater social and economic benefits for the majority.

Summarily, taxation must perpetuate growth of civilization in terms of increasing levels of productivity of systems in an increasing competitive world if it must succeed.

PROPERTY TAX AND ADMINISTRATION

Property taxes are government (legitimate) levies on incomes from ownership, use and occupation as well as alienation of interests in properties. They are levied on capital appreciation which usually arise as a result of increased economic and population activities. They are also levied on betterments conferred on properties. These betterments are increments also on capital values arising from government actions such as prompt refuse disposal, development/construction of roads, provision of pipe borne water etc. The taxes usually referred to as property rates are justified by the “Quid Pro Quo” dictum which means that the tax levied should be proportional to the benefits

derived by the property from the local government action. The different types of property tax include but not limited to Capital Transfer Tax (CTT), Capital Gains Tax (CGT), With Holding Tax (WHT), Estate Duty/Probate Tax, Stamp Duty and Inheritance Tax. These taxes exist today except Capital Transfer Tax (CTT) which is abrogated in Nigeria.

The administration of taxes in Nigeria is performed at the different levels/tiers of government – Federal, State and Local government. The machineries for administration are the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Board of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Sub Treasury/Valuation Units of Local Government Councils respectively. These organs and machineries are adequately established by law.

Notwithstanding the various laws establishing the different organs/machineries of tax administration in Nigeria, Cap E27 Law of the Federation on Nigeria 2007 empowered the ESTATE SURVEYOR & VALUER as the only professional qualified and so authorized to assess and determine the value of properties and the tax payable under different heads of property tax. It is unfortunate that those who have no business with valuation or the assessment of property tax thereof are the ones carrying out the assignment of valuation and assessment of tax. I am sure that one of our esteemed Resource persons will treat that matter appropriately.

The problem with tax administration in Nigeria is gargantuan. Preponderance of tax evasion, lack of trained manpower, lack/inadequate motivation of staff of the revenue boards, lack of mobility, poor management of revenue collected, poor tax education, fraud and the fake receipt syndrome, neglect of revenue heads and lack/total absence of revenue producing receipts are just a few of the problems.

The capacity to pay tax in democracies such as Nigeria is created by the welfare programs of government in terms of education, health, and infrastructure, security of lives and property and preservation of peace with neighbours. These are benchmarks by which growth capacity can be measured. The capacity of a nation to produce goods and services to meet the needs of the citizens represents the capacity to motivate allegiance of the citizens of that country to pay tax, and thus assure increased capacity of government to fulfill higher levels of functions and consequently sustained growth in happiness. It is a symbiotic relationship which is totally lacking in Nigeria. People do not see the need to pay taxes. Where the assessments are carried out, there are often complicities by fraudulent staff who connive with the property owners to embezzle funds either through under valuation and assessments or complete obliteration of the property from the valuation list. To checkmate these anomalies there is the urgent need to resort to the use and application of the Comprehensive Value Data Base (COMVADAB) technology in property tax administration.

COMPREHENSIVE VALUE DATA BASE (COMVADAB) TECHNOLOGY

Comprehensive Value Data Base (COMVADAB) is a laser aided application that maps and assesses property and infrastructural developments for quick and reliable information. It is a high technology (HI-TECH) application that is used in very many ways including the assessment and development of information data base. The use and application of the Comprehensive Value Data Base (COMVADAB) is predicated on three prerequisites

- The area/environment must be mapped.- The area/environment must be planned- The area/environment must be allocated

Mapping will establish boundaries, coordinates and imagery. Planning will define uses and layouts including zoning and sub-divisions. Allocation will establish ownerships and even alienations and transfers. Land Surveyors will naturally be involved in mapping; Town Planners and Land Use Planning consultants will take charge of planning while Estate Surveyors & Valuers will be involved in allocation in line with the relevant sections of the Land Use Act that established the Land Use & Allocation Committee for State governments and the Land Advisory and Planning Committee for Local governments.

The Mapping can be carried out using LIDAR technology which is the newest achievements of map production technology. LIDAR is an acronym for Light Detection and Ranging. The basic components of a LIDAR system are laser scanner and cooling system, Global Positioning System (GPS), and Inertial Navigation System (INS). The laser scanner is mounted within a properly outfitted aircraft and emits infrared laser beams at a high frequency. The scanner records the difference in time between the emission of the laser pulses and the reception of the reflected signal. A mirror that is mounted in front of the laser rotates and causes the laser pulses to sweep at an angle, back and forth along a line. The position and orientation of the aircraft is determined using a phase differenced kinematic GPS. GPS systems are located in the aircraft and at several ground stations within the area to be mapped. The orientation of the aircraft is then controlled and determined by the INS. The round trip travel time of the laser pulses from the aircraft to the ground are measured and recorded, along with the position and orientation of the aircraft at the time of the transmission of each pulse.

After the flight, the vectors from the aircraft to the ground are combined with the aircraft position at the time of each measurement and the three dimensional XYZ coordinates of each ground point are computed. The system can be operated at various scan frequencies and at different altitudes depending on the measurement accuracy dictated by the project requirements, as well as by the regulated eye-safe range of the particular laser.

The post-flight processing combines precise aircraft trajectories developed from differential GPS solutions with the corrected laser ranging data and aircraft roll, pitch, and heading information. Integration of this data produces a precise horizontal position and vertical elevation for each laser pulse. Each data point can be identified by type, i.e. ground, vegetation, building, power line or other object. Once classified, it is simple to manipulate data, remove layers of data points and create digital terrain models (DTM). This is important in assessing infrastructural developments like roads and bridges and defining mitigating measures that could be taken during overlaps and environmental degradation.

Various types of maps could be developed using this technology including the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps. It is unfortunate that at the present only the Nigerian Maritime Administration Agency (NIMASA) and National Oil Spill Detection & Response Agency (NOSDRA) use Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps.

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI)

Other uses of the HI-TECH Comprehensive Value Data Base (COMVADAB)

The application of CONVADAB in property tax administration is appreciated when viewed against many options and advantages. For instances, the technology is useful in identifying location, type, volume and quality of property or building.

Image map showing in 1m resolution.

If the image is in three dimensions (3D), all that an Estate Surveyor & Valuer need do will be to develop a database that will contain all the requisite information such that

a. No property will be skipped,b. No tax payer will be skippedc. Tax will be proportionate with the services available within the neighbourhood

and from which the property benefitsd. There will be no tax evasion or avoidancee. There will be less litigation and objection to assessmentsf. Tax administration will be greatly improved.

CONCLUSION

We have been able to establish thus far that government will rarely succeed without tax especially property tax. The ways and means to achieve the desired objective of securing optimum compliance from citizens as regards property tax administration remains a mirage unless drastic measures are taken to shore up the tax base by the application of Comprehensive Value Data Base Technology (COMVADAB). Here lies our hope more so as the perceived benefits of applying this technology far outstrip its cost.

COMVADAB