No fewer than 80 establishments have been sealed off by the Osun State Internal Revenue Service (OIRS) following their inability to pay taxes and other levies to the state government.
The staff of the revenue service, with the help of the security operatives armed with court order commenced the mass enforcement of payment of taxes, levies and other charges due to the state by sealing off premises of tax defaulters across the state.
Some of the establishments they sealed off were private schools, hotels, club houses and centres, filling stations among others.
Guests at the affected hotels where they carried out the enforcement of payment of the tax owed the state, were asked to remove their cars before the sealing off.
The exercise forced some owners of the affected establishments to source for money and pay off their dues to avoid sealing off.
But some complained that they were not properly served or given notice before the action, while other said that the time which they were given to pay was too short adding that ‘the market is dull’ in the state.
Speaking, the Acting Chairman OIRS, Mr. Bicci Alli said that the defaulters were properly served notices before the mass enforcement began.
He disclosed that the state was being owed about N30billion as tax and levies.
Alli said that the affected establishments were given notices and reminder of the need to pay up their taxes and levies due to the state saying that on the expiration of the notice, the agency approached the court to secure order allowing the agency to seal off any defaulting establishment.
The revenue boss who added that after his outfit secured the court order, another 14 days ultimatum was given to allow those affected ample time to make payment to the coffers of the state.
Alli maintained that the state government embarked on the action in order to boost its purse for the completion of various ongoing infrastructural projects across the state.
While noting that tax default is criminal, Alli said that the government is not only enforcing payment of taxes but to ensure compliance by all citizenry across the state.
He explained that what the state is demanding from the people is not new taxes and levies but existing ones adding that governor Rauf Aregbesola wants to complete all ongoing projects and the only way to achieve this is through buoyant resources that could be generated internally.
Packaged by Bunmi Oladejo
