OYO State government has set up a joint task enforcement team involving the local governments.
Just as the state Internal Revenue Service (OYIRS) has vowed to, from August 17, prosecute tax evaders and offenders in the state with statutory fines and imprisonment.
Special Adviser, Board for Oyo State Internal Revenue Services, Mr Biyi Oloko, accompanied by Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Toye Arulogun, made this disclosure on Thursday.
He said the state government would go all out to prosecute tax defaulters.
The renewed revenue drive, according to him, covered Pay As You Earn (PAYE), direct taxation, withholding taxes for individuals, Capital Gains Tax for individuals, Stamp duties on instruments executed by individuals, road tax, business premises registration, development level for individuals, right of occupancy fees on lands owned by state government, land use charges.
To ensure full compliance and harmonised approach to the payment of taxes, Oloko said the state and local governments had set up a joint enforcement team.
He further disclosed that the state government had adopted electronic collection of revenues (POS) at all revenue points in the state aimed at curbing fraud.
He, therefore, urged taxpayers not to make any cash payment to individuals, rather they should pay directly into the designated revenue accounts in any of the collecting banks.
“The Oyo State Internal Revenue Service has now put in place a data bank on tax defaulters and is now embarking on an enforcement and prosecution drive that will take full advantage of the provisions of the tax laws to apprehend and prosecute tax defaulters,” Oloko sounded.
Oloko explained that the OYIRS had over the past months embarked on various advocacy and enlightenment programmes, for various stakeholder groups to emphasise the importance of payment of taxes as at when due.
Urging residents of the state to comply with the tax laws, he said such Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) would enable the state government attend to infrastructural development, security, education and healthcare.