Lagos Govt. seals six firms for N6.20m tax evasion

The Lagos Inland Revenue Service (LIRS) has sealed six companies for failing to remit N6.197 million Personal Income Tax of their staff to the state government.
Mrs Ajibike Oshodi-Sholola, Head of the Distrain Unit of LIRS, said in Lagos, that the companies were sealed during a state-wide tax law enforcement exercise
Oshodi-Sholola, who led the enforcement team, said that the affected companies’ tax liabilities were between 12 months and four years.
Oshodi-Sholola said that most corporate organisations usually evade the remittance of the previous year’s tax only to remit taxes of current years, adding that the six companies’ tax debts were basically for 2011 tax-audit year.
According to her, some companies think that jumping the previous years’ tax to pay off the current year tax will make the LIRS exempt them from paying the outstanding debts.
“It is very wrong to overlook tax payment of any certain year and a misconception to think that government will forfeit tax payment of any registered organisation in the state.
“Despite how long the tax of an organisation has lingered, the truth remains that the government will someday come for it,” she said.
The team leader noted that the enforcement would continue until Nigerians imbibed the culture of voluntary tax compliance, adding that tax evasion was a criminal act.
According to her, the companies that were affected by the recent tax enforcement include; pharmaceutical companies, a security management company, paint manufacturing firms and a media company.
Oshodi-Sholola urged companies operating in the state to ensure that their tax files and documents are always up-to-date to avoid been shut by the LIRS.
She said that the poor administration and compliance to taxation system had resulted to low generation of revenue from tax.
She said that the poor taxation system was responsible for the poor maintenance of the nations’ infrastructures.
“In western countries where everything is taxable, tax is government’s key source of income. The government can still streamline Nigerian taxation system to make it more rewarding.
“I believe that effective taxation will boost government’s revenue and that is the only way the nation’s infrastructures can be maintained and sustained,” she added.
Meanwhile, some of the affected companies complained of not being given notification by the state government before coming to shut down their firms.