Companies, consumers taxes rise by 59%, hit N6.19tn — NBS report

Taxes from companies and consumers rose by 59.07 per cent year-on-year to N6.19tn in the first nine months of 2023.

In the first three quarters of 2023, new data from the National Bureau of Statistics has shown that the total amount paid as Company Income Tax and Value Added Tax in the country rose to N6.19tn from N3.89tn in the corresponding 2022 period.

In the period being reported, VAT increased by 34.45 per cent to N2.44tn from N1.81tn and CIT increased by 80.58 per cent to N3.75tn from N2.08tn, signifying a significant increase in tax collections despite a challenging year for the nation’s economy.

In its VAT report for the third quarter of 2023 released on Friday, the NBS said, “On the aggregate, Value Added Tax (VAT) for Q3 2023 was reported at N948.07bn, showing a growth rate of 21.34 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis from N781.35bn in Q2 2023.

“Local payments recorded were N522.08bn, Foreign VAT Payments were N204.58bn, while import VAT contributed N221.41bn in Q3 2023.”

The manufacturing, information and communication, and financial and insurance sectors were the three largest contributors to VAT.

Commenting on CIT collection for the year, the statistics body noted, “On the aggregate, Company Income Tax for Q3 2023 was reported at N1.75tn, indicating a growth rate of 14.27 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis from N1.53tn in Q2 2023.”

Foreign firms are contributing more to CIT than local firms, and in Q3, “Local payments received were N651.63bn, while Foreign CIT Payment contributed N1.10tn in Q3 2023.” The biggest contributors to CIT in Q3 were the information and communication, manufacturing, and mining and quarrying sectors.