On Saturday, the Enugu State Government clarified that the Enugu Mortuary Tax is not meant to generate revenue for the state but to discourage residents from taking their dead ones to the mortuary.
Emmanuel Nnamani, the Executive Chairman, Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (ESIRS), made the clarification while reacting to the now trending Mortuary Tax circular which was addressed to all the Mortuary Attendants in the state.
News About Nigeria reports that the ESIRS had announced that, “the sum of N40.00 only is to be paid by owners of a corpse once it was not buried within twenty-four hours. The amount continues to count on a daily basis. Kindly ensure that owners of corpses make the payments before collection of the corpses for burial and then remit same to the ESIRS in any commercial bank under the mortuary tax in Enugu State IGR Account.”
However, the announcement has sparked various reactions, as many are questioning why there is a tax on depositing the dead at a mortuary.
Reacting to their concerns, Nnamani explained that the tax was not new to the state, adding that it was within the Enugu State Mortuary Tax Law, which had existed for years.
He further noted that contrary to claims by some social media users the amount to pay was only N40, not N40,000.
“It is an indirect tax paid by mortuary owners, not deceased family and it is just N40, not N40,000. Since its introduction, nobody has been denied burying their dead ones. It means that that corpse stays in the mortuary for 100 days the mortuary is expected to pay the state a sum of N4000.
“The tax is not meant to generate revenue but to discourage people from taking their dead ones to the mortuary all the time,” Nnamani added.
