The Lagos State government has said it needs more tax revenues to provide for and sustain the fast rising population of the state.

The governor of the state, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, said this during the 6th Lagos State Taxation Stakeholders Conference on Thursday.

He said there had not been appreciable growth in the number of taxpayers in the state despite the spate of development in the state.

Fashola said the state had always advocated voluntary compliance in the area of tax payment, but had now resolved to enforce the same via the courts because most people were hard tax evaders.

The move by the state to borrow to finance its projects, he said, was necessary because there was the need to plan ahead for the future.

He said, “Everyone needs to play his or her part to make us realise our objectives in Lagos. For instance, the population growth rate of the country is just three per cent, but that of Lagos is six per cent.”

According to Fashola, taxes help society to be equitable. “It is only a government that provides for the poor that can protect the rich,” he added.

– Punch Newspapers