AMAC To Seal Hotels Over Tax Evasion

The chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Christopher Maikalangu, has said the council’s task force would from Monday begin sealing of hotels over tax evasion.

The chairman who spoke through his senior special assistant on media and public affairs, Mr. Kingsley Madaki yesterday, said the area council had strictly followed the law and served 14 days demand notice to the hoteliers.

He said a meeting held with the association of hoteliers known as HOFA in the council secretariat harped on the importance of taxes for running of the area council.

Maikalangu said since the hoteliers had been given 14 days demand notice which had since elapsed, the AMAC task force would commence enforcement on Monday to verify compliance and seal hotels of defaulters.

On double taxation which hoteliers have been complaining about, he said AMAC only collects liquor license and business premises permit, among others.

“One notice is usually given and since the area council has done that, the task force will start enforcement. The area council has also furnished them with its account number. Anybody that paid to another account number would be on his or her own.

“As a council, this administration has fulfilled its promises to provide transformers and other facilities where there was none, and such facilities were usually provided through revenue generated from business operators in the area council,” he said.

On the collection of taxes and other revenues by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), he said the FCTA or any of its agencies lack the jurisdiction to collect revenue from business operators because they are not area councils.