Speaking during a statewide tax law enforcement exercise in Lagos
on Wednesday, Mrs Ajibike Oshodi-Sholola, Head, Distrain Unit of the
Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), disclosed that the LIRS has
sealed Protea Hotel, close to Kuramo Waters, over alleged failure to
remit N11.07 million personal income taxes deducted from workers’
salaries.
According to a report by Punch Newspaper,
the Protea Hotel was earlier sealed by the service over evasion of
N148.88 million consumption and hotel occupancy taxes on June 9, and the
hotel reportedly broke the seal without LIRS consent, payment of the
tax liabilities or due resolution of the issue.
Oshodi-Sholola said the tax liabilities were for 2012 tax audit year. “Before
LIRS gets court order to seal a company, it usually sends at least two
letters of notice to the management of the affected firms reminding them
of the tax liabilities.
“So, both the demand notice letter and letter of intention to
distrain were sent to the management of the hotel, but they failed to
act on them,” she said.
LIRS DU head who led the enforcement team, said that it took the
team over five hours to evacuate the management of the hotel out of the
premises. “It was a difficult task before the management of the
hotel, particularly its chairman, accepted to leave the hotel for the
team to properly seal it.”
The hotel Chairman, Ajibola Aribisala, denied receiving any notice
or letter from LIRS, saying that it did not received any recent letter
from LIRS in respect to the company’s staff personal income tax. “I am ready to sue LIRS for this insult.”
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