Lagos State Internal Revenue Services (LIRS) is responsible for collecting taxes in behalf of the Lagos state government. Do not forget that tax represents a huge chunk of the income generated by the Lagos state government.
Due to the huge amount generated as tax in Lagos state, the state government does not depend much on the monthly allocation given to the state government from the Federal coffer.
The present head of the LIRS is Mr. Olufolarin Ogunsanwo. He got his appointment when the present governor, Governor Akinwumi Ambode, assumed office. LIRS has put up lots of programs to ensure the tax collection system in Lagos is transparent and effective. They have developed several computer programs to ensure this effectiveness.
In the month of May for example, Lagos state was able to generate up to N24bn from tax. They make use of Electronic Tax Clearance Certificate, which makes the process very fast and more effective than ever before.
The system ensures the Lagos state government is able to block all loopholes to tax collection. With this system, tax evasion in Lagos becomes almost impossible.
In order to further make all citizens in Lagos state to pay tax, the government has made tax evasion a serious offense against the law of the state. This is according to person Income Tax Act of 1993.
The procedure of tax payment is very simple and anyone can do it. Virtually all the banks in Lagos state work with the LIRS to ensure Lagosians can walk into banks to make their payments.