Domestic Workers, Artisans To Start Paying Taxes In Lagos

LIRS

The Lagos State Government on Tuesday announced that it had widened its tax net to include domestic workers and artisans.

Chairman of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), Mr Olufolarin Ogunsanwo, made the announcement at a news conference in Lagos.

Ogunsanwo said the agency had commenced the process of overhauling the informal sector with a view to ensuring voluntary compliance by all tax payers.

He said the agency had identified three categories of tax payers in the sector, including market men/women, artisans, micro, small and medium-scale enterprises and domestic staff.

According to him, these categories of people are expected to remit one percent of what they earned to government’s coffers.

Ogunsanwo said that a directorate had been created in the agency to oversee the sector, while modalities for taxing these categories of people had been worked out.

He said a review of the tax Form A of the Personal Income Tax Act had also been conducted.

He added that a customer care desk would soon be created in all the 38 tax stations within the state to enlighten residents.

The Commissioner for Finance, Mr Mustapha Akinkunmi, disclosed that despite the harsh economic conditions, the LIRS contributed 79 percent to the state’s Internally Generated Revenue in 2015.

He said the percentage amounted to over N20 billion in January 2016 alone.