The Chairman of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Services (LIRS), Mr Babatunde Fowler, who disclosed this, said the company only paid N212 million instead of N988 million as tax for 2013. One Chief A. Giwa- Amu had petitioned Governor Babatunde Fashola, alleging that some LIRS tax officials were conniving with Huawei “to evade tax payable to the Lagos State Government for the past six years”.Lagos State Government, which accused Huawei Technologies Company Nigeria Limited of withholding N776 million tax in 2013, said yesterday that it had commenced investigation into the issue.
“The said company, with an overwhelming staff strength, only declares to the tax office some staff and pays majority of staff in China thereby evading tax payable on salaries of those staff,” the petition reads in part. Reacting to the allegations, Fowler said LIRS had begun investigation into the tax records of companies even before the petition.
He said: “LIRS has begun investigation into Huawei Technologies Company Nigeria Limited. We have also told them to give certain information including their monthly immigration reports which every company who has expatriates must provide. “We are currently still in discussion with the company on 2013. If in the next one or two months it is not resolved, then those cases will go to court. “You may ask us how we get to N988 million.
We have what we call Industry Average Rate. Base on the expatriates that they said they have here, they have 901 expatriates and we looked at the industry that they are in, we take an average pay of what those staff earn in other companies.” Fowler added that several letters had been sent to the company to comply with the tax law, adding that LIRS would look into all the documents sent to it by Huawei Technologies Company.
He disclosed that LIRS was verifying the basis of the firm’s objection, adding that the government, if not satisfied with records provided by the company, might be forced to go to court to get the power to shut the company. The LIRS chairman, who said that many companies were guilty of falsifying their document in a bid to evade tax or pay less than they were supposed to pay, added that over 200 companies had been prosecuted in the last one year.http://newtelegraphonline.com/lagos-probes-firm-over-n776m-tax-default/
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