Bayelsa govt threatens to seal oil firms over tax evasion
(Nigeria) The Bayelsa State Government has threatened to seal sites and premises of oil companies and oil servicing companies that default in its tax obligations to the state.
Mr Felix Bonny Ayah, Special Adviser to the Governor of
Bayelsa on Oil and Gas, made the government's position known in an interview on Sunday.
Ayah said that the government had informed oil firms that
non-compliance with tax obligation was no longer tolerable.
The state government in May sealed a gas plant operated by
Shell in Yenagoa over breach of development control levies.
Aya, who spoke shortly after meeting with the Shell
Petroleum Development Companym SPDC and Hi-long Limited at the Ministry of
Mineral Resources, Yenegoa, regretted that oil firms were evading tax.
He said the major responsibility of the government was to
ensure that the multinationals have a good working environment and a smooth
drive in their operations.
He noted that the companies must reciprocate by ensuring
that their responsibilities to the government were fulfilled by paying their
tax.
A representative of Hi-long Limited had assured that their
consultant would address the issues in no distant time
Governor Seriake Dickson had in a letter to President Muhammadu
Buhari in May 2016 complained non-remittance of taxes to the state by
International Oil firms operating in Bayelsa State.
Ayah also informed the companies on his efforts to ensure
that there was cordial relationship between the companies and the communities.
He also assured the companies of fairness in disputes
between them and the communities.
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