Lagos to shut headquarters of banks, others

The Lagos State Government on Sunday said it would shut the corporate headquarters of organisations that had defaulted in remitting statutory taxes to the government from November 20, 2017.

The Commissioner for Finance, Mr Akinyemi Ashade, who made the disclosure on Sunday in Lagos, said some banks had failed to remit statutory taxes, including withholding taxes on banks’ interests for more than 10 years.

Ashade said that the government had resolved to resort to all lawful means to ensure compliance with statutory tax remittances.

“Any company found to have evaded tax will not be spared.

“It is in the interest of defaulting companies and their management to remit the statutory taxes to the state within the grace period to avoid embarrassment to them and their shareholders.

“All law abiding corporate organisations are advised to adhere to this directive as the state government has given enough grace period for them to remit their taxes.

“The government will on Monday, Nov. 20, commence the process of shutting down the headquarters of corporate organisations, including banks that have failed to remit statutory taxes to government coffers,’’ Ashade said in a statement.

He said that prompt payment of taxes would enable the government to provide the necessary infrastructure and improve the standard of living of the people.

“When people pay their taxes promptly, government is encouraged to do more.

“The administration of Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode has shown in the last two and half years that taxes paid are judiciously spent on projects that have impacted positively on the lives of residents,’’ the statement said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the government had on Nov. 7, lamented that only about 600,000 residents out of a population of over 22 million were up to date in terms of tax compliance.

The government therefore directed all its revenue agencies to ensure prompt payment of taxes, including land use charges and also commence enforcement of payment by all tax defaulters with immediate effect.