The Plateau Government on Tuesday directed all Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (FMDAs) to ensure speedy and correct payment of Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax to the State Internal Revenue Service (PSIRS).

Mr Dashe Arlat, Chairman, Plateau State Internal Revenue Service (PSIRS), gave the directive during a stakeholders’ meeting with the heads of FMDAs in the state.

“A situation whereby PAYE of federal workers operating in the state are not deducted correctly and remitted to the service is unacceptable.

“Tax returns by FMDAs is very important to the state as a matter of law and any defaulter is liable to pay a fine of N500,000, ’’ he warned.

Arlat, who described the occasion as “family meeting’’, said that the challenge before PSIRS was knowing the actual take home PAYE of all the federal workers in the state.

He said the service would be glad if all the FMDAs would forward their comprehensive list, including earnings to the service for proper assessment of payment.

According to him, the stakeholders should view the meeting as a forum, which will cement their relationship toward synergy as partnership to avoid any friction. Some of the stakeholders at the meeting complained of lack of access to the payrolls of their respective organisations and agencies because their headquarters were in Abuja.

Mr Suleiman Mohammed, Controller of Customs, Plateau/Benue Area Command, described the meeting as timely and an eye opener.

He said the organisation would do its best to ensure that the necessary things were done to avoid any misunderstanding with the state government.