April 15, 2015 – The Lagos State Government has said that monthly Internally Generated Revenue(IGR) has jumped up to N23 billion from N20 billion in the year 2013.
Chairman , Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), Mr. Tunde Fowler made the revelation at a press briefing in Lagos.
He attributed the increase to the number of people that have come into the tax net of Lagos State. According to him, those who are tax compliant in Lagos State are now 4.5 million up from 3.8 million in the previous years.
Fowler said that the level of tax compliance among corporate Nigerians is 98 percent adding that contrary to reports before the election, the IGR of Lagos State did not drop at any time.
He explained that revenue is not as stable as staff salaries which comes in with stipulated figures every month adding that in some months, the LIRS gets N18 billion, sometimes N22 billion and N20 billion adding that on the average the IGR was N20 billion then.
He said that there is a spike in IGR in the months of April, May, June, November, December and January when there is payment in dividend warrant, leave bonus and others.
Fowler noted that 626 tax defaulters were dragged to court with a total liability of N11.6 billion while 376 succeeded in obtaining a restraining order and a liability of N8.1 billion and that N728 million was however recovered through court processes.
Earlier in his speech, Special Adviser to the Governor on Taxation , Mr. Bola Shodipo said that the Lagos State government did not at any time say that the Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Mr. Jimi Agbaje evaded tax.
According to him, what was said was that Jay Kay Pharmacy where Agbaje serves as chairman owes the state land use charge in arrears and that the situation has not changed.
