Emma Amaize
16 August, 2011, Sweetcrude, WARRI- SHELL Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, yesterday, denied the allegation by the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue, DIBR, Warri, Delta State, that the oil company was allegedly holding back tax remittances to the revenue organization
Contrary to the insinunation by the chairman of DIBR, Joel-Onowakpo Thomas that Shell and Chevron Nigeria Limited were playing hide and seek, the Anglo-Dutch conglomerate in a statement by Mr. Joseph Obari of its Media Relations Office, Warri, stated, “SPDC is engaging the Delta State Government on a date for an audit of PAYE and Withholding Tax remittances in the state”.
“As a responsible corporate citizen, we regularly remit all PAYE and Withholding Taxes to the Delta State Government, as to other governments. All our tax remittances are up to date, and we publish such payments annually”, he added.
Notwithstanding the refutation by Shell, a group under the auspices of Transparent Leadership Initiative (TLI), Warri, Delta State, has commended the leadership of the Delta State Board of internal Revenue (DBIR) on its recent step to investigate and compel multi-national oil companies and other cooperate organizations operating in the state to remit their due taxes to the Delta State Government.
TLI made the commendation in a statement signed by Comrade Efe Idudu and Comrade Matthew Okafor, national pesident and secretary respectively, and made available to newsmen in Warri, yesterday. It said that the recent directive by the executive chairman of DBIR, Thomas to investigate Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Chevron Nigeria Limited, was a welcome development.
The group urged the board to extend its investigations to the activities of Chevron in the Escravos Gas To Liquid (EGTL) Project to ascertain the level of compliance by Chevron and all the allied companies executing projects in EGTL, adding that by so doing, companies that have not been responsive to tax payment and remittance would begin to do so.
