Kaduna shuts 25 private schools, MFB over tax evasion
Kaduna State Government says it has shut 25 private schools and a micro-finance bank over tax evasion.
Prof. Muhammed Tanko, Chairman, Kaduna State Board of Internal Revenue, stated this on Wednesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Kaduna.
Tanko said the Board would not hesitate to prosecute those who refused to remit their taxes in the state.
“These actions became necessary after we issued a seven-days ultimatum to all tax defaulters to pay up.
“At the end of the ultimatum, only 175 private schools paid their taxes, while 25 others were sanctioned over unpaid tax arrears.
“We served them with all the tax remittance processes, ranging from letters of inspection, tax audit to demand notices for payment,” he said.
Tanko said the next phase of the exercise would be on hotels, private hospitals, clinics, and eateries.
He said that the state government lost N18bn in 2013 to unpaid taxes and revenue which, according to him, impacted adversely on the execution of capital projects in the state.
“Although we have 70 revenue generating ministries, departments and agencies, the Board of Internal Revenue and the Ministry of Lands are the two major revenue sources in the state,” he said.
Tanko said that the Board had set out modalities to boost the 2014 revenue from the various MDAs by reinforcing their machineries through direct assessment and other strategies.
“We will also work with the legislators to ensure that relevant laws are initiated to replace obsolete ones in order to enhance revenue generation.
“We will also enhance revenue collections at various levels to enable the state implement the budget as planned,” he said.
Tanko assured the people that the government was committed to the development of infrastructure in the state.
(NAN)