The Lagos State Internal Revenue Service on Friday said it sealed eight companies this week for refusing to remit more than N24.7m personal income taxes of their workers.

A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria covering the enforcement team reported that three of the companies were closed on March 25 for failing to remit N3.8m taxes.

The other five companies were sealed on March 26 for non-payment of N20.9m tax debts.

Mrs Folasade Coker-Afolayan, the Head of Enforcement Unit of LIRS, told NAN that the companies defaulted in the remittance of personal income taxes of their workers.

Coker-Afolayan, who led the team, said the liabilities covered periods ranging from one year to three years, adding payment of taxes was a civic responsibility of all workers.

She said the government needed the taxes to provide infrastructure for economic development and improved standard of living.

“Tax payment is a civic responsibility of everyone because it enables the government to provide adequate infrastructure for the people,” she said.

Coker-Afolayan urged tax payers and companies to imbibe the habit of prompt payment of taxes for government to serve them better.

She warned the sealed companies not to violate the laws by re-opening their premises for business, reminding them that it was a criminal offence to do so.

The team leader advised the affected companies to produce evidence of their tax remittances if they had any.

She also solicited tax payers’ cooperation to enable the tax officers perform their duties effectively, warning that it was a criminal offence to assault LIRS officials while on duty.

Some of the affected companies accused the state government of not giving them fair hearing.

They also frowned at the manner the government was enforcing the tax laws.

NAN reports that the LIRS had sealed 44 companies in the last two months over non-remittance of N460.6m personal income taxes of their workers.