LASG seals 18 hotels, event centres over tax evasion

LAGOS State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) said it has shut 13 hotels, restaurants and event centers on account of failure to pay their taxes amounting to N426,976,528.87 due under the Hotel Occupancy and Restaurant Consumption Laws of Lagos State 2009.

The Director Legal Services of the LIRS, Mr Seyi Alade, disclosed this at the weekend while speaking on the state-wide tax enforcement exercise, warning that defaulting hotels, restaurants and event centres would henceforth face the full wrath of the law if they failed to deduct and remit their taxes as provided by the law.

“Failure to deduct and remit taxes as at when due attracts very serious penalties that may lead to the sealing, seizure of the goods and chattels and criminal prosecution of principal officers of recalcitrant entities,” he warned.

Alade, while promising to release in due course the names of the entities affected by the enforcement exercise, however, maintained that LIRS usually gave a long rope by issuing multiple notices to the taxpayers to inform and also remind them of their tax liabilities, adding that only recalcitrant taxpayers were shut down as in the present case.

He, therefore, urged all business entities operating in the state to ensure prompt remittance of their taxes to avoid costly disruptions on their businesses due to their non-compliance.