Subair stated this at the Gala night organised to close the 159th meeting of the Joint Revenue Board (JRB) held in Lagos, where tax administrators and revenue stakeholders from across the country gathered for four days to deliberate on ways to strengthen tax systems, improve compliance, and deepen revenue generation nationwide.

According to him, the decision by Tinubu to grant operational autonomy to the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service years ago laid the foundation for the success story that has since become a model for several states in Nigeria.

He said,

“This story of taxation in Lagos was started seriously by our present President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who deemed it fit to give autonomy to the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service.

“From then on, things changed. Things are still evolving and changing because he handed over the baton to very serious governors thereafter. His model is copied in most of the states in Nigeria. I think the President deserves applause. We are seeing the benefits of that vision that this great Nigerian had, and we all pledge to continue.”

Subair noted that Lagos had sustained the momentum through successive administrations, with visible investments in transportation, urban renewal, and other public infrastructure funded largely through taxes paid by residents.

The LIRS chief also commended Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for delivering robust infrastructure development.

He noted that in addition to significant investments in education, health, housing, and urban renewal projects, the multimodal transportation system, which includes rail, road, and water transport, is a key part of the current administration’s legacy.

He said,

“Governor Sanwo-Olu is doing a great job. This administration is building the multimodal transport system, as witnessed by the JTB members. Apart from the rail, you also have road transport through the BRT, and then we have the ferry service.

“We launched all sorts of projects, and we are soon going to have electric ferries and boats that will move people all over. Also, the Red Line is supposed to be fully in place within one year.

“All this would never have been possible without the good people of Lagos paying their taxes. When you pay your taxes, there is a high level of correlation between the payment of taxes and development.

“In other countries, people pay a lot of taxes, some up to 50 to 60 per cent of their earnings, and it is a way of life for them. In Nigeria, they are trying, but the benefits of paying taxes can only come when everybody plays their own part.”

The LIRS chairman added that voluntary compliance in Lagos had continued to rise because taxpayers could clearly see how their contributions were being utilised.

He said,

“In Lagos especially, tax compliance is moving at a much higher pace than that of the rest of the country. That is because people can see where their money is going. You can see the good projects that are coming. You can see the good works of the government of Lagos.”

The 159th meeting of the Joint Revenue Board, formerly known as the Joint Tax Board, ran from April 20 to April 23 in Lagos.

The board comprises the Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, chairmen of the 36 state internal revenue services, and the Federal Capital Territory and representatives of strategic government agencies, including the Federal Ministry of Finance, National Identity Management Commission, Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, and the Federal Road Safety Corps.

The meeting featured various activities, including a session of the Finance and General Purpose Committee, followed by meetings of the Education Committee on the second day.

Delegates also took part in an excursion to inspect major infrastructure projects carried out by the Lagos State Government. They rode the Lagos Blue Line Rail from Marina to Mile 2 and visited the iconic Eko Atlantic City.

In a statement available to Techeconomy, Mr. Ayodele Subair, executive chairman of LIRS, said that the reminder is for to all individual taxpayers, including self-employed individuals, those in the informal sector, and employees under the Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) scheme, to submit their Annual Tax Returns on or before March 31, 2025.

“This directive is in accordance with the Personal Income Tax Act (PITA) 2004 as amended”, said Mr. Subair who, emphasized “Under Section 41 of the Act, all taxable persons must submit a comprehensive return detailing their total income from all sources for the previous fiscal year (January 1st to December 31st 2024, in this case) to the relevant state tax authority within 90 days of the commencement of the new assessment year.”

The LIRS boss reiterated the importance of adhering to the deadline, urging taxpayers to fulfill their statutory obligations promptly to avoid penalties and other legal consequences.

He also highlighted that tax returns must be submitted exclusively through the LIRS eTax portal, accessible here.

The portal is designed to offer taxpayers convenience, security, and ease of compliance.

“In line with our commitment to simplifying the tax filing process, dedicated tax officers are available at our various tax offices to assist individuals with online registration and tax return submissions via the eTax portal,” stated Mr. Subair.

Subair received the prestigious award at the Peak Performer (TPP) Fest held at the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos.

The event, which brought together key stakeholders in the public and private sectors to celebrate excellence and innovation, highlights Subair’s unwavering commitment to excellence and innovation within the public sector, sterling transformative initiatives that significantly enhance service delivery.

His leadership has been pivotal in driving transformative policies and improving service delivery within the agency.

A standout moment of the festival was the LIRS emerging as a major highlight of the event, winning four awards for its exemplary performance in revenue collection and taxpayer engagement strategies.

The agency has continually demonstrated innovation in enhancing its operations, thereby contributing significantly to the state’s economic development.

The LIRS was recognised as the ‘most outstanding revenue collection agency of the year’, most outstanding performance as women-friendly revenue collection, as well as most outstanding performance in public engagement among others.

Accompanied by the LIRS directors, Ayodele Subair, who received the five awards on behalf of the agency, dedicated them to the state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the tax-paying Lagosians, saying that the awards would encourage the LIRS to perform much better as it’s always a good feeling when you have recognition for all the hard work and efforts you put into your work.

Calling on the people to support the state more by paying their taxes when due, the LIRS boss noted,

“Because a lot of people don’t even connect the dot, people feel that when they go to the US or UK, they are very happy with what they see, good roads, light, security and so much support from the government but somebody has got to pay for it and the only way we can achieve such greatness is when all of us pay our parts.

“We have a lot of ideas and innovations that we apply because nobody wants to pay tax in any part of the world. Nigeria is not different from the other parts of the world. So, we spend a lot of time in advocacy because we realise that a lot of our citizens don’t avail themselves with all the various laws and procedures.”

He noted that payment of taxes is part of a social contract between the government and citizens as it helps the government to provide efficient infrastructure and qualitative social services.

“We have to show the people where the money goes to encourage them to pay their taxes as and when due. So, we have a lot of the projects that are going on. So, nobody who lives in Lagos would deny the fact that there are a lot of groundbreaking projects going on in Lagos, so many of them – the Blue Line, the Red Line, all the good roads, security.”

The Convener of The Peak Performer Festival, TPP Fest, Dr. Abiola Salami, said the award was instituted to appreciate individuals and organisations doing great things in Nigeria.

He noted that despite the challenges facing the country, “A number of things are going right in Nigeria, and on our continent, it is not all gloom and doom.

Salami submitted,

“So when things are going right, let us say it. Of course, when things need to be improved, we should say it as well, but not by pontificating or knocking down the people who are not doing things right but by providing solutions to help them because generally, if people know better, they do better.”

According to him, TPP Fest focuses on deepening insights to help individuals and organisations thrive and succeed.

Others honoured with the Legacy Awards included Dr. Biodun Shobanjo, Chairman of Troyka and Insight Communications; Sir. Ademola Aladekomo, Chairman of SmartCity Resorts; Adire textile designer, Mrs Nike Okundaye-Davies; Mr Foluso Philips, founder, Phillips Consulting; Dr John Momoh, chairman of Channels Television, and Dr Cosmas Maduka, CEO of Coscharis Group.

Mr. Ayodele Subair, the executive chairman of LIRS, conveyed this in an official statement released by the agency.

Subair emphasized that employers of labour with businesses located within Lagos State must adhere to the deadline, as failure to comply will result in penalties and other statutory sanctions outlined in section 81(3) of the Personal Income Tax (Amendment) Act 2011.

Mr. Subair reiterated that the exclusive platform for filing annual income tax returns in Lagos State is the LIRS e-Tax portal, as manual filing is no longer permissible. He urged businesses and employers to leverage the e-Tax portal for filing, citing its user-friendly, convenient, and secure nature.

“The e-Tax portal is designed for the convenience of taxpayers, making tax transactions easily accessible from the comfort of homes and offices,” noted Subair.

He emphasized that the Taxpayer ID is a mandatory requirement for all employers to file their annual income tax returns on the e-Tax portal.

Employers within the State are advised to generate a taxpayer ID (where applicable) for their employees and to file their P.A.Y.E returns through the e-Tax portal.

To facilitate compliance and address any filing-related concerns, LIRS has designated staff at its various offices to assist taxpayers in utilizing the e-Tax portal. For additional information or inquiries, taxpayers are encouraged to visit the agency’s website, follow LIRS on social media platforms: @lirsgovng, reach out via email at etaxinfo@lirs.net, or contact the LIRS customer care: 0700CALL LIRS (0700-2255-5477).

The State-wide project was introduced to provide a platform for employees, stakeholders and the general public to report any observed violation, misconduct, or unethical behaviour across the State.

Mr. Ayodele Subair, the LIRS Executive Chairman, said that the Whistle-Blower initiative is a public policy of the State Government to encourage reporting of illegal actions or financial crimes, through the appropriate channel, with a view to correcting the violations or non-compliance.

According to the LIRS boss, “In line with the LIRS core values of integrity and accountability and our commitment to uphold the highest standards of openness, probity and accountability in our dealings with stakeholders, the platform is anonymous and confidential and it is independently managed by Deloitte, a globally accredited company.”

“The objective of the Whistle-Blower initiative is to guarantee transparency, accountability, and confidentiality to all taxpayers and stakeholders in general.

“The policy is designed to protect whistle-blowers from victimization and to encourage them to freely report without fear,” Subair submitted.

Mr Ayodele Subair, the Executive Chairman of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), in a statement at the weekend, said the Agency, as part of its digitalization process, is discontinuing all previously used bill references effective from August 1st, 2022.

Consequently, according to the Chairman, only the Enterprise Tax Solutions (eTax), generated bill references will be acceptable for tax payments.  

The eTax platform, which went live in October 2019, was launched by LIRS to engender seamless tax operations and reduce compliance costs to taxpayers.

Since its launch, eTax has improved the effectiveness of tax administration in Lagos State.

Mr Subair added that the eTax was built as a one-stop shop for all tax transactions, and it is in the same spirit that the generation of bill references, required for all tax payments is now exclusive to the platform.

He reiterated that by the cutoff date of August 1st, 2022, the platform would become the only authorized channel to generate bill reference for tax payments and other tax-related transactions in Lagos State.

To generate a bill reference on e-Tax, taxpayers can use the 5 easy steps below:

1. Visit the platform here.

2. Input your Payer ID and password to log in

3. Select revenue type, and upload schedule (For PAYE & Withholding Taxes)

4. Generate a bill reference

5. Make a payment on any of the multiple channels available, using the generated bill reference.