The association's president, Emmanuel Onuorah, disclosed the information in an exclusive interview.
Onuorah stated that many bakeries were being put out of business by the state's exorbitant taxation.
He stated, "As we speak, I am in the state of Anambra. Come to Anambra and observe what the governor and his thugs are doing. As soon as you enter Anambra with the flour, they will halt the vehicles and pounce on them. Since Soludo became the governor of Anambra, there are thugs everywhere.
"He packed his own in addition to the ones Obiano had on the road. They are a group of highway criminals. This is what a professor in Anambra is doing. If you are importing flour into Anambra, you must do it as soon as you cross the bridge. They will quickly attack you. There are taxes everywhere. This is the situation in the state of Anambra."
Onuorah asserted that the governor of Anambra has been strangling and killing businesses by imposing numerous taxes.
"My members in Anambra are powerless. If you are transporting approximately 300 sacks of flour, you will be stopped at the head bridge. You must pay N30,000. If you bring two trucks, you will be charged N60,000. They will enter bakeries to cause all manner of issues. Not only that, however. "He is also taxing the welders that work for us," he protested.
Similar News Bakers expect a new price increase, citing rising material costs. A group abandons the bakers' strike. Thursday, bakers cease bread production due of rising prices. Prof. Chukwuma Soludo's press secretary, Mr. Christian Aburime, emphasised to our correspondents that the Anambra State government was merely collecting taxes in accordance with the law, without bothering anyone.
Aburime refuted the notion that goons were used to harass the bakers over taxes by saying that the tax collectors are authorised government agents.
He stated, "Allegations that Soludo uses goons to harass bread businesses in Anambra over taxes are untrue and without merit. How does requiring them to pay taxes they are required to pay boost bread prices? Wheat is grown in Anambra?
"The man making the complaint is one of many who wish to continue evading taxes as required by law. The truth is that these individuals have been dodging taxes for years, and now that the government is enforcing the law to ensure that they pay their taxes, they are accusing Soludo of telling lies. They don't pay taxes in Lagos or elsewhere?"
He asserted that the Anambra State government did not increase or excessively tax anyone, nor did it use goons to harass anyone over taxes.
"The governor collects only those taxes authorised by the law. The taxes are significantly lower than they were previously.
"Those who collect taxes are authorised to do so, and they are neither thugs nor bullies in the process. "It is not Soludo's taxes that have caused the increase in production costs," he stated.
(Source: punchng.com)
