One of such conversations was the sensationalized darts of perceived evasion of taxes at Aisha Achimugu who recently celebrated her birthday and what was considered overtly ostentatious
By Divina O’simone
It is increasingly becoming a narrative of thought versus idealism when it comes to mainstreaming gender in the process of progressive inclusion.
In the last few weeks women have been at the brunt of bearing generalized misinterpretation of sexists branding that “women are either more corrupt than men or the misogynist impressionist conversation that women cannot become all that they desire or dare to celebrate it.
It’s shown that women who are successful have become targets of policies that only embolden the economic gap for women, ensuring that men are often given the first reserve and sensationalizing the discourse when it comes to women for the purpose of retrogressive socialization.
One of such conversations was the sensationalized darts of perceived evasion of taxes at Aisha Achimugu who
recently celebrated her birthday and what was considered overtly ostentatious and which there after had the FIRS blazing the headlines on following her taxes. This for all its rights and responsibilities is what they are by law asked to do however we may also ask, were there is no bias in these approaches especially as it concerns women, as we recall that there have been men who have been known to also live their lives to the full glare with it’s attended glitz’s and glam with no media inquisition by the FIRS .
Femi Otedola’s yacht splash on his 60th birthday, celebrated on the superyacht Christina O, which was once owned by Greek billionaire, Aristotle Onassis. The price of opulence was $3 million for one week and the prize was for Otedola to be the first African to charter the super-exclusive yacht, which had 38 crew members on board.
Obinna Iyiegbu also know as Obi cubana, who’s burial splash and extravaganza for late mother featured 400 cows and money rain from the high and mighty society.
On December 9, Senate President Godswill Akpabio spared no expense in celebrating his 61st birthday.
The lavish event, held across two cities, Guests at the Akpabio birthday extravaganza included the wife of the president, Remi Tinubu, state governors, ministers, senators and members of the House of Representatives
So this leans to the findings that perhaps our tax systems are built on policies that widened the inequality gaps between men and women. The world’s 22 richest men have more combined wealth than all 325 million women in Africa, according to a study. When 22 men have more wealth than all the women in Africa combined, it’s clear that our economy is just plain sexist,” said Oxfam GB’s chief executive, Danny Sriskandarajah.
we need to recognize that gender-based injustice stems from a host of public policy failures—including those related to state revenue collection and spending, recently African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) studied 16 African nations’ tax systems to determine whether any are built on policies that aim to reduce gender inequality. ATAF’s conclusion: There is “little evidence that they were developed with any concern for their impact on inequality between the sexes and the approach to each gender clearly biased more on the minority, the women. One of these countries include Nigeria.
The Addis Tax Institute defines “implicit gender bias” in taxation as facially neutral tax policies that, “due to the gendered patterns of social arrangement, gender pay gaps, and economic behavior,” generally create worse tax outcomes for women, especially targeting those with healthy incomes rather than build bridges for wealth distribution and sustainable economic reintegration.
Implicit gender bias in personal income tax systems has been found to be widespread,
Women disproportionately bear the brunt of tax policy failures because over the years poverty has remained highly feminized. Policies of austerity and tax burden shifting are normalized.
Integrating tax justice as part of the broader struggle is a necessity for women’s rights as also
affirmed by Global Days of Action which addressed gender tax justice, implications of increasing digitalization of the economy (and of tax authorities), “recovery” versus austerity, gendered aspects of wealth taxes, and more in 2023.
Finally History also shows us that a small number of powerful elites, who have been largely male, and wealthy make up the “tax laws”which largely reflects their values and their biases and makes them exceptions from
the rules.
* Divina O’simone is a Researcher and Writer with Writers Without Borders (WWB)