The Benue Board of Internal Revenue Services (BIRS) on Thursday sealed off three private schools for failure to remit workers’ tax deductions into government coffers.
Victor Beke, BIRS Head of Enforcement, told journalists that the exercise was in continuation of the clampdown on tax defaulters in the state.
According to him, the tax defaulters are in Oju and Ogbadibo Local Government Areas of the state.
“The Board has emphasised that it will continue to clamp down on tax defaulters in the state,” said the BIRS boss.
He explained that the exercise followed court order to seal off business premises that were in default of tax payment.
He said that defaulters whose premises were sealed would pay 25 per cent of the total outstanding as interest and penalty to the board in addition to the initial tax.
Beke said Solid Vision Academy, Obu-Otukpa, in Ogbadibo Local Government Area was in two-year arrears of pay-as-you-earn tax, amounting to N200,000.
He said that Saint John’s College, Obu-Otukpa, and Benpaulian Group of Schools, Ichakobe Ibilla, were also owing the state N100,000 and N330,000 respectively, in unremitted tax deductions.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that BIRS had approached a Benue High Court with the list of tax defaulters in the state.
Justice Theresa Igoche granted the order to seal off the premises, relying on Section 104 of the Personal Income Tax Act, 2011 and Benue Internal Revenue Administration Law, 2015. (NAN)