Lennart Dodoo
Africa-Press – Liberia. The Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) has confirmed to FrontPageAfrica that it ordered the closure of SRIMEX Oil and Gas Company due to its continuous default on tax payments.The offices of the petroleum company were shut down on Tuesday by the Revenue Authority.
“I can confirm that an action was taken in line with LRA’s mandate. The action was taken against a company that has delayed its taxes, not an individual. Many similar actions are routinely taken against many other companies and businesses to recover taxes,” said D. Kaihenneh Sengbe, the Communications Manager at the LRA.
Mr. Sengbe, however, could not provide details on the amount owed by Srimex, which is known to be owned by businessman and politician Musa Hassan Bility. Mr. Bility is also the chairman of the opposition Collaborating Political Parties (CPP).
However, in a Facebook broadcast, Bility disclosed that he owes US$165,000 in taxes and though he understands that it is routine for the LRA to request access to a company’s financial records to determine tax withholdings, he could not understand how the decision to shut down a major company like his was reached.
“I can confirm that an action was taken in line with the LRA’s mandate. The action was taken against a company that has delayed its taxes, not an individual. Many similar actions are routinely taken against many other companies and businesses to recover taxes,” he said.
While Bility claims to owe US$165,000 in taxes, there are reports that he owes the government of Liberia up to US$4 million in taxes. FrontPageAfrica has not been able to confirm the exact amount owed by Srimex.
In his Facebook broadcast, Bility insinuated that Montserrado County Senator Darius Dillon, along with an operative of the opposition Unity Party working within the LRA, were behind the shutdown of his company.
He noted that although he believes the abrupt closure of his company was unnecessary, the LRA reserved the right to carry out its duties.
“There are Senators, there are individuals within the LRA now that politicized the issue, and this Senator gives the information to Stanton [Witherspoon], and you can see where the information is coming from,” he said.
Mr. Bility called on the authorities at the LRA to ensure that the Authority isn’t politicized by any of its Commissioners for political gains. He insisted that the LRA has never charged Srimex with tax evasion, as was insinuated on the SPOON Talkshow.
Bility, who also serves as Chairman of the Liberty Party, and Senators Dillon, Nyonblee Karngar-Lawrence, and Steve Zargo, who are/were top-ranking members of the Liberty Party, have had a strained relationship since the split of the original Collaborating Political Parties, which comprised the Liberty Party, the Alternative National Congress, the Unity Party, and the All Liberian Party.
The aforementioned Senators sided against the political leader of the ANC, Mr. Alexander Cummings, after he was accused of tampering with the CPP Framework Document.
They were subsequently expelled from the Liberty Party in accordance with the party’s constitution, on the grounds that they had failed to pay their dues over a protracted period.
According to Bility, Srimex has been making monthly payments of approximately US$450,000 towards the Road Fund and is nearing completion of its payment.
On the SpoonTalk show on Tuesday, Mr. Stanton Whiterspoon alleged that Bility’s Srimex has been involved in tax evasion since 2018.
Meanwhile, the closure of Srimex also comes in the wake of disclosure by the President Pro-Tempore of the Liberian Senate that there are plans to prepare and enact a Recast Budget to cut spending, as there is a projected finance gap of approximately 44 million US dollars in the 2023 National Budget.
Recently, the Legislature voted to approve Fiscal Year 2023 draft National Budget in the tone of US$794,532,682, an excess of US$16.5 to the version submitted by the Executive.
source:frontpageafricaonline
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