Worried by the activities of tax evaders in Delta State, the Federal Inland Revenue Services on Tuesday clamped down on two prominent hotels in Asaba, the state capital.
The hotels were accused of refusing to comply with the rules guiding tax payment in Nigeria.
They are Jina Hotel, situated along Asaba/Onitsha Expressway, and Sea-park International Hotel in Okwe axis of the metropolis.
The FIRS Tax Controller, John Hamman, who spoke on the development in Asaba after the establishment carried out an enforcement operation on the defaulters, said the service under the law has the power to visit, assess the assets of the establishments and prosecute those that failed to comply with the rules governing taxation.
Hamman said some of the companies earmarked for enforcement failed to release their documents to the service after writing so many letters to them informing them of the duties of FIRS, stating that the service was surprised that the hotels waited for enforcement.
The Controller lamented that the service in Asaba has up to 2000 tax payers while less than 200 companies are filling their annual tax returns.
He revealed that in September 2014, 93 companies filed their monthly report while in October 2014, it reduced to 86, at the percentage of 55.7 per cent.
Hamman, who revealed that failure to pay tax or raise report is an offence, warned that violators would be made to enter an undertaking in the presence of the police and that if they defy, they would be reported to the head office in Abuja before prosecuting them.
While making them to enter an undertaking for them to operate, he said the service was forced to embark on the enforcement knowing fully that it make them to pay and once they comply the service would delete the names of the companies from the enforcement list.
On why the hotels failed to comply, Alozie Jeff, the Manager of Jina Hotel, said the hotel is new and they have not operated up to one year, while Ifeanyi Ijeh, the Director of Sea Park Hotel, said the hotel was leased out for the past three years and the new manager has failed to perform such responsibilities.