The Chairman of Abia State Board of Internal Revenue, Mr. Udochukwu Ogbonna, has decried the rate of tax evasion in the state. He said mobile courts had been established by the government to try defaulters.

Ogbonna said yesterday that the situation had adversely affected the state’s finances, because its major revenue source is taxes.He condemned individuals and corporate bodies like banks that evade the payment of property taxes. He said some of them were being tried by courts designated by the government to handle tax matters.

According to him, there are over 1,000 cases pending before these courts. He, however, lamented the slow pace of hearing and prosecution of these offenders. He said: “If these cases are heard and defaulters pay what is due, over N1 billion would be realised by the state government.”He urged the citizens and property owners to pay their taxes or risk their premises being sealed off on conviction by the court.