Lagos – The Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), on Monday urged corporate organisations in the state to update their operational addresses of face prosecution.
Mrs Ajibike Oshodi-Sholola, Head, Distrain Unit of LIRS said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the ultimatum stemmed from recent discoveries about companies with fake operational addresses in the state.
She identified false addresses as a major challenge encountered by LIRS operatives responsible for the sealing of organisations that failed to pay tax.
According to her, about 50 per cent of the addresses submitted by some organisations are non existing.
She said that LIRS projected revenue from most of the corporate concerns with fake addresses were lost annually and unaccounted for by the service.
“The taxes of the companies that are not realised will invariably affect and reduce the government’s earnings from taxation.
“So companies should not because of fear of the amount the government may give them to pay, continue to give false addresses,” she said
Meanwhile, four companies were sealed by the LIRS over N39.33 million tax evasion in a state-wide tax enforcement drive last week.
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Oshodi-Sholola, who also led the enforcement team, said that the four companies were shut on Aug. 11, adding that the affected companies’ tax liabilities were for between 12 months and five years.
“The tax liabilities of the companies are specifically for from 2005 to 2010 tax audit year,” she said.
She said that the enforcement drive would continue until tax-payers exhibit full compliance with tax laws.
According to her, the companies that were affected by the last week tax enforcement exercise comprised a hospital, real estate firms and a consultancy firm. (NAN)
