Oyo set to prosecute tax defaulters

Hard times await tax evaders in Oyo State as the Internal Revenue Service (OYIRS) has announced plans to prosecute them and other offenders from next Wednesday. Addressing reporters in Ibadan on the development, the Special Adviser on OYIRS, Mr. Biyi Oloko, alongside the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Toye Arulogun, said the state internal revenue service has put in place a data bank on tax defaulters and would soon embark on an enforcement and prosecution drive that would take full advantage of the provisions of the tax laws to apprehend and prosecute defaulters.

He stated that the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice would be empowered through a rapid tax prosecution process to commence the trial of tax defaulters.“The Oyo State government through the State Internal Revenue Service (OYIRS), has put all the necessary machineries in place to ensure the enforcement of the tax laws and wishes to advise all erring taxpayers to comply forthwith and ensure immediate payment of any outstanding taxes, fines and levies. The full weight of the law will be brought to bear on taxable persons who fail to comply.”

He added that the government has set up a joint enforcement team with the local government in order to ensure a harmonised approach to the enforcement of the tax laws of both the state and local government.

Oloko stated further that in order to block leakage in revenue collection, the state government has adopted electronic collection of revenues (POS) at all revenue points in the state.