LASG To Prosecute Tax Invaders from April 1, Silent On Jobless

LAGOS State government has reiterated its position to prosecute all tax invaders in the state starting from tomorrow April 1, 2016.

 

In a statement by the Chairman of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS),Mr. Olufolarin Ogunsanwo on Wednesday, he regretted that a large number of residents in the state willfully desist from paying their taxes to the government despite the substantial efforts of the governments to add value in every aspect of the society within the state. He recalled that the law stated that eligible tax payers must pay within 90 days of the commencement of a new year.

“Under the Personal Income Tax Act, a taxable person is statutorily required to file a return of income for the preceding year within 90 days from the commencement of every year of assessment (March 31^st being the deadline), while every employer of labour is required to file all emoluments paid to its employees for the preceding year, not later than 31^st of January each year.

“Therefore, any taxable person or corporate organization, who fails to file their tax returns with LIRS by the stipulated date, is in breach of the provisions of the law, which is a criminal offence that is punishable under the tax laws.

“But it is disheartening to note that a large fraction of eligible taxpayers are still not complying, thereby failing to contribute to the common purse for the good of all. In the wake of little or no proceeds from the federation account, the focus of the present administration in renewing infrastructure and general development of the state cannot be achieved by the attitude of those who deliberately refuse to discharge their civic responsibility to the state.

“We are now going to the next phase, which is enforcement and prosecution, and we will take full advantage of the provisions of the tax laws to apprehend and prosecute tax defaulters”, Ogunsanwo said.

However, the LIRS did not clarify the position of the eligible Lagosians and residents but default on payment of taxes due to joblessness putting into consideration that while a large number shown to have evaded tax, a large portion of the fraction are jobless are therefore did not deliberately refuse to fulfill their civic responsibility.