Lagos establishes court for tax evaders, defaulters

The Lagos State Government on Tuesday warned that tax evaders in the state would be prosecuted.

The state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, who stated this, added that in line with the plan, the Ministry of Justice had established a Rapid Tax Prosecution Unit.

According to him, the unit will aid the Lagos Internal Revenue Service in its drive to collect taxes, and will work closely with the Revenue Court, which the Chief Judge of Lagos State recently agreed to set up.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Akinwumi Ambode, Mr. Habib Aruna, quoted Kazeem as explaining that in view of the extreme financial downturn, there was the strong need for government to ramp up its Internally Generated Revenue.

The attorney general added that the Ambode administration had put measures in place necessary to end the era of tax in the state.

 He said, “Prosecution and jail term for defaulting tax payers will be a tool that we will be actively using to ensure full compliance. Tax officers, I understand, will be very aggressive in their collection of taxes and the public is hereby advised to cooperate with them because obstruction of these tax officers in their lawful duty can and will lead to prosecution.

“Tax dodgers watch out because the long arm of the law will eventually reach you. All tax payers are also reminded that giving false information is also an offence and can be used in the prosecution of your tax default. If you pay your taxes regularly, you will have no problem.” Kazeem said.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Mustapha Akinkunmi, was quoted as saying the state’s internally generated revenue for the month of January was N24.5bn.

According to him, the IGR is in line with the efforts of the current administration to reform its tax system and develop a tax paying culture.

The Finance Commissioner attributed the improvement in the revenue generation of the state to voluntary tax compliance by tax paying members of the public despite the harsh economic terrain.

On his part, the LIRS Chairman, Mr. Olufolarin Ogunsanwo, said the agency had consistently been promoted reforms to improve the ease of doing business in Lagos, which in turn aid voluntary tax compliance.

Ogunsanwho called on Lagosians to continue to pay their taxes when due as that would empower the state government to embark on infrastructural renewal and provision of dividends of democracy to the citizenry.