The Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, continued its nationwide tax enforcement exercise on Thursday, shutting Mirage Hotel, in Calabar, the capital of Cross River. Upon its arrival at the hotel, the FIRS team discovered the hotel had stopped operating.
Anita Erinne, leader of the FIRS enforcement team, said the hotel management owed N13, 672,901.00 of unremitted Value Added Tax, VAT.
Also sealed was the Cross River State University of Science and Technology (CRUTECH) Micro Finance Bank over a similar tax liability. Erinne said the micro finance bank owed VAT in arrears of N11million from 2009 – 2012. While pleading for leniency, Morris Ekpenyong, managing director of the bank, claimed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had granted the firm a waiver on the particular tax debt. Ekpenyong added the micro finance had demonstrated sincerity by earlier paying N2million out of its tax debt. He said the payment was done after the bank allegedly negotiated with the FIRS.