…As FG says We’ll pay Ikoyi whistle-blower this month ***

The Lagos State Government has threatened to go tough on tax evaders, warning that beginning from November 20, the Government would commence the shutting down of tax defaulters’ Corporate headquarters, over non remittance of  statutory taxes to the government.

The State Commissioner for Finance, Mr Akinyemi Ashade, who disclosed this on Sunday in Lagos, also noted that some banks had actually failed to remit statutory taxes, including withholding taxes on banks’ interests for more than 10 years.

Ashade said that the government had resolved to adopt all lawful means to enforce 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 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.

In the meantime, the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, on Sunday said that the whistle-blower who informed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission  (EFCC) of the N13bn recovered from an Ikoyi apartment in Lagos would be paid this month.

Adeosun said this in a statement issued by her Special Adviser, Media and Communications, Mr Oluyinka Akintunde.

She denied claims that the government had withheld any fund due to any whistle-blower, adding that the delay was caused by the administrative procedures that must be fulfilled before such funds are released.

The statement read in part, “The attention of the Honourable Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has been drawn to media reports surrounding the payment to a whistleblower, who provided the tips that led to the recovery of funds stashed away in a property in Ikoyi, Lagos State.

“The Honourable Minister wishes to state unequivocally that the Federal Government has not withheld any fund due to any whistleblower.

“The ministry has in place detailed procedures for processing payments due under the whistleblower policy. “The procedures were designed to prevent abuse and legal disputes and to ensure protection of the information providers.

“These procedures include an application by the agency who recovered the funds including evidence of the recovery, confirmation that there are no pending legal issues on the recovery, verification of the identity of the information provider, calculation of the amount payable and computation of relevant taxes.

“It must be stated also that payments are made in monthly batches to ensure control and to protect the identity of information providers.

“To date, over 20 of such persons have been paid. From available records, the payment due on Ikoyi is among those being processed in the November batch, which will be released within the current month.”

Adeosun restated that the whistleblowing policy of the Federal Government remains one of the current administration’s successful initiatives and that the government was fully committed to ensuring that all those who responded to the policy and partnered with it in the recovery effort are paid in full and most importantly have their identity protected.

The whistle-blower policy was introduced in December 2016 by the Federal Government as part of the initiatives to wage war against corruption.

Additional report from Citizen