CLAIM: "The Ministry of Commerce and LPRC do not have the authority to levy taxes. only the Legislature holds that constitutional power."
VERDICT: TRUE, But,
Full Text: Nathaniel F. McGill, Senator of Margibi County, sparked widespread debate on social media after making a constitutional assertion about tax authority in Liberia.
In a September 9, 2025 Facebook post, McGill declared that neither the Ministry of Commerce nor the Liberia Petroleum Refinery Company (LPRC) possessed the constitutional authority to levy taxes, emphasizing that this power rests exclusively with the Legislature.
The post quickly gained momentum across social media platforms, generating 891 reactions, 828 comments, and 27 shares. Many commenters connected the Senator's statement to a recent price adjustment announcement from LPRC, made in consultation with the Ministry of Commerce, regarding petroleum product prices in the Liberian market.
Verification: The Stage Media's fact-checking team examined the 1986 Constitution of the Republic of Liberia to verify McGill's constitutional interpretation.
Article 34(d) of Liberia's Constitution explicitly grants the Legislature the power "To levy taxes, duties, imposts, excise and other revenues; to borrow money, issue currency, mint coins; and to make appropriations for the fiscal governance of the Republic."
This constitutional provision clearly establishes the Legislature as the sole branch of government with the authority to impose taxes and related fiscal measures.
We contacted Cllr. Joshua S. Kulah, Assistant Vice President for Legal Affairs at LBDI, and these were his words:
“The Legislature has the authority to levy fines. The Constitution gives the legislature the power to do so, and using that power, the legislature also passes laws that enable agencies and government authorities to levy fines, taxes, and different fees.
"That is how Monrovia City Corporation can come up with City ordinances; that's how LRA can come up with tax policies; Commerce can come up with fines; even recently MoL just came up with changes to the resident permit fees. When you read the Acts founding these entities, you will see what authorities to levy these fines and taxes are granted by the legislature, which has the authority. That doesn't change the fact that the legislature has the authority to make these laws on fines and taxes.”
"That is how Monrovia City Corporation can come up with City ordinances; that's how LRA can come up with tax policies; Commerce can come up with fines; even recently MoL just came up with changes to the resident permit fees. When you read the Acts founding these entities, you will see what authorities to levy these fines and taxes are granted by the legislature, which has the authority. That doesn't change the fact that the legislature has the authority to make these laws on fines and taxes.”
We checked if McGill claim is accurate with the new proposal of LPRC.
The fact is LPRC did not leverage a tax on petroleum as claimed by McGill what LPRC did was to introduce an adjustment to the petroleum pricing structure following recommendations by the Liberian Senate and a subsequent directive from President Joseph Boakai.
LPRC says the action is in line with a public hearing convened by a joint Senate committee, after which a report to the Plenary of the Senate was reviewed and forwarded to Boakai.
On Monday, September 15, Lofa Representative and former ways, Means, and Finance chairman, Moses Kollie said there is a difference between taxes and fees.
"I want to make it clear that an institution like the Ministries of labor, commerce, LPRC has the authority to levy fees for specific services; those are not taxes that the Legislature has to impose; they have the authority as long as the board approves," He said.
Kollie further stated that the LPRC has the statutory authority to levy fees and it doesn't have to meet the consent of the Legislature.
On Monday, September 15, Lofa Representative and former ways, Means, and Finance chairman, Moses Kollie said there is a difference between taxes and fees.
"I want to make it clear that an institution like the Ministries of labor, commerce, LPRC has the authority to levy fees for specific services; those are not taxes that the Legislature has to impose; they have the authority as long as the board approves," He said.
Kollie further stated that the LPRC has the statutory authority to levy fees and it doesn't have to meet the consent of the Legislature.
Conclusion: Senator McGill's assertion is constitutionally accurate. The 1986 Constitution of Liberia unambiguously vests tax-levying authority exclusively in the Legislature. Neither executive agencies like the Ministry of Commerce nor state-owned enterprises such as LPRC possess independent constitutional authority to impose taxes on the Liberian people. What the Senator was inaccurate about was that the new structure fees by the corporation were not taxes.
