Gombe declares war on tax evaders

From BEN NGWAKWE, Gombe

IN its bid to look inward for revenue to complement meager grants coming to the State monthly, the Gombe State Board of Internal Revenue has declared that there would be no more tax evasion by companies in the state.

Speaking after a meeting with financial stakeholders in the state on Thursday, Alhaji Mua’azu Atiku, Chairman of the Board stated that it would not be business as usual when banks remitted amounts not commeasurable with their earnings.

In a meeting that lasted several hours and attended by some banks representatives as well as other stakeholders, the chairman said that any firm that defaulted in appropriate tax remittance to the Board would be blacklisted in accordance with tax laws of the country.

He declared that law must be recognized, respected and upheld by all firms operating or doing business in the State. The State Government has engaged a consultant, Sycamore Consultants Nigeria Limited that co-ordinate and collect taxes on behalf of the State Government.

The chairman also emphatically stated that tax evasion was a criminal offence and punishable in law however, good performance by any firm would be recognized and rewarded by the State Government. The firms were to support the developmental strides of the Government.

He also stated that there would be no sacred cow in the present drive as the Government won’t allow any laxity or truancy capable of stagnating the Government targeted drive. All firms must avoid confrontation in pursuit of this goal.