Edo ‎Private School Owners Groan Over Increase In Personal Income Tax














Edo ‎Private School Owners Groan Over  Increase In Personal Income Tax



Iduozee Efe Paul, Benin 

‎ Private School Owners in Edo state said they will be compelled  to increase School fees as a strategy to stay in operation in view of the recent increase in the personal income taxes paid by private school owners by 300 percent by the Edo state government.
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‎The state chairman of National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, NAPPS,Dr Lemmy Oare Russell made the statement when he briefed the press in Benin,Edo state capital.
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‎The body  condemned the over 300 percent personal income tax increment for private school owners by the State Government.saying that the adoption of the arbitrary taxes of over 300 percent increment on private schools would negatively affect the economy of parents.
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‎Dr Russell said increasing school fees would not speak well of the Governor Monday Okpebholo-led administration.
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‎He said the press briefing became necessary following a statement by the State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paul Ohonbamu dated March 18, 2025, refuting the alleged new tax regime for private school owners by the state government.
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‎Russell also added that the press briefing was necessitated by the recent personal income tax assessment distributed to private school owners by the State Internal Revenue Service, EIRS.
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‎He further noted that it was  geared towards drawing the attention of the State Governor, Monday Okpebholo to the sudden and arbitrary tax increment imposed on private school owners in the state.
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‎While noting that the running of a school is not a business but a social service, he assured that they would continue paying taxes to the government.
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‎”From our understanding about taxation, taxes are to be generated from the profit made from the business,  but we are suddenly noticing that a benchmark of N30,000 for Nursery, N35,000 for Primary, and N40,000 for Secondary schools are stipulated as minimum school fees for every private school within the state. These figures are multiplied by the head count done by tax officers.
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‎”Tax officer and the obtained figure is assumed as your profit, not your income, and surprisingly, other costs of running the school are not put into consideration such as local government levies, environmental levies, signage, approval renewal, utility bills among others”, he said.
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‎He lamented that with the new tax regime, some proprietors who paid  N400,000 in 2024 are now going to pay N6,026,115 million, representing a 1,506.5 % increment, while those who paid about N750, 000 would pay about N35 million.
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‎He alleged that the increment cut across all private schools in the three Senatorial districts.
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‎”A proprietor in Ikpoba Okha paid N500,000 in 2024; now, the tax has been increased to N8,148 million, representing 1,629.6 %. Another proprietor in the same local government paid N350,000 tax in 2024; now, in 2025, it has been increased to N2,5 million, representing 714.3 %.
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‎”In Oredo Local Government, a proprietor paid N370,000 tax in 2024, and now he has been given a tax of N3,5 million in 2025 representing 945.9 %. In Edo Central Senatorial district, a proprietor that paid N276.904 in 2024 would now pay N1,688,297.6 million in 2025, representing 609 %, he added.
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‎Russell, therefore appealed to the State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, that their personal income taxes should be between 5 % and 10% as they were before they came on board his government.
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‎He also appealed to the Governor to prevail on the State Board of Internal Revenue Service to shield its swords against private school owners.
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‎In an interview, some of the school proprietors, which include Peter Odion Okungbowa, Cavalry Crow Academy, Dr Mathew Nosa Omoragbon, Oman Christian Academy, and Mrs Ojeh-Oziegbe Azuka of Young Scholars Academy, all in Benin City, appealed to the governor to quickly intervene to save them from being out of business.


Recently, when the Edo state NUJ visited EIRS office in Benin, the Executive Chairman of the Edo State Internal Revenue Service (EIRS), Mr. Bankole Balogun, denied that the body did not increase the tax of private schools in Edo state.

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