By Dennis Agbo

ENUGU—THE Enugu  State Board of Internal Revenue, yesterday  sealed five choice hotels located within Enugu Metropolis for failure to remit their taxes.

Tax

Chairman of the State Internal Revenue Service, Mr. Emeka Odo said the affected hotels were among other tax defaulting institutions  that cumulatively owe the state government over N6.6 billion.

Odo said the seals were aimed at recovering the debt that dated back to 1996.

“We wrote several demand notices, followed them up with reminders and did not receive cooperation from the defaulters. So, we received approval from our Board to seal the institutions until they pay,” Odo stated.

He further disclosed that the state government would soon embark on another round of enforcement which court orders have already been obtained and urged tax invaders in the state to comply with their  obligations.

He lamented that a lot of people still treat payment of taxes with levity, “yet, they enjoy the infrastructure and  other social services provided by the state government and all these come from  tax payers.

“Government  everywhere are run by taxes and we cannot solely depend on money from the federation account. That is why we are ensuring that they pay tax,” Odo said.

He recalled that the state Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi had earlier disclosed that N18 billion was generated from internal revenue sources this year, adding that government has been spending the money on provision of essential services in the state.