By Adedapo Adesanya
The latest set of data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that Nigeria recorded a rise in the Value Added Tax (VAT) and the Company Income Tax (CIT) paid to the nation’s purse in the third quarter of the year.
VAT, which is a levy paid on goods and services produced within or imported into the country, saw a 21.3 per cent rise in value to N948.07 billion from N781.35 billion in the preceding quarter, Q2 of 2023. Comparatively, on a year-on-year basis, VAT collections in Q3 2023 increased by 51.6 per cent from Q3 2022.
A breakdown showed that local payments recorded were N522.08 billion and foreign VAT payments were N204.58 billion, while import VAT contributed N221.41 billion in Q3 2023.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, agriculture, forestry, and fishing recorded the highest growth rate with 91.9 per cent, followed by the activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies with 80.25 per cent.
On the other hand, real estate had the lowest growth rate at –37.7 per cent, followed by construction at – 9.54 per cent.
In terms of sectoral contributions, the top three largest shares in Q3 2023 were manufacturing with 26.5 per cent; information and communication with 19.0 per cent; and financial & insurance activities with 12.3 per cent.
The NBS noted that nevertheless, activities of households as employers, undifferentiated goods and services-producing activities of households for own use recorded the least share with 0.02 per cent, followed by water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities with 0.06 per cent; and activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies with 0.10 per cent.
As for the CIT for Q3 2023, which is the tax on the profits of both local and foreign firms operating in the country, the bureau reported a 14.3 per cent growth to N1.75 trillion versus the N1.53 trillion recorded in the preceding quarter.
On a year-on-year basis, CIT collections in the quarter increased by 115.9 per cent from the same period last year.
In Nigeria, the tax is currently charged at the rate of 30 per cent for companies having more than N100 million in turnover, and 20 per cent for companies with a turnover ranging between N25 million and N100 million.
As a result, local payments received were N651.63 billion, while Foreign CIT payments contributed N1.10 trillion in Q3 2023.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, education recorded the highest growth rate with 59.6 per cent, followed by public administration and defence, and compulsory social security with 57.0 per cent.
On the other hand, activities of households as employers, undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use had the lowest growth rate with –74.3 per cent, followed by Water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities with -73.3 per cent.
In terms of sectoral contributions, the top three largest shares in the quarter were information and communication with 26.2 per cent; manufacturing followed with 23.9 per cent; and mining and quarrying with 11.86 per cent.
The activities of households as employers, undifferentiated goods and services-producing activities of households for own use recorded the least share with 0.00 per cent, followed by water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities with 0.04 per cent, and activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies with 0.10 per cent.
