FG Records Tax Revenue Windfall, Banks’ Tax Rises by 109.6%

There are indications that the Federal Government is having great times in its finances as its revenue from Value Added Tax (VAT) and Company Income Tax (CIT) rose by 85 per cent year-on-year, YoY, to N6.44 trillion in H1’24. The same period last year (H1’23) yielded only N3.48 trillion.

Meanwhile, the leading commercial banks in Nigeria have paid N579.38 billion as income tax in the first half of 2024 (H1’24), representing a 109.6 percent year-on-year (YoY) increase from N276.39 billion in the corresponding period of 2023, HI’23.

Breakdown of data obtained from the financial statements of banks for H1’24 shows that Zenith Bank led the pack with N149.03 billion followed by Ecobank with N132.5 billion and Guaranty Trust Bank with N98.2 billion.

Other banks with significant tax payments during the period includes Access Bank N67.6 billion, United Bank of Africa N51.06 billion, Stanbic IBTC N30.64 billion, First Bank of Nigeria N21.4 billion, Fidelity Bank paid N19.6 billion, First City Monument Bank N4.3 billion, Wema Bank N3.97 billion and Sterling Bank N1.08.

Breakdown of the latest tax data of the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, showed that revenue from VAT rose by 100.6 percent to N2.99 trillion in H1’24, from N1.49 trillion in H1’23.

Similarly, revenue from CIT increased YoY by 73.3 per cent to N3.45 trillion in H1’24 from N1.99 trillion in H1’23.

Recall that in May the Federal Government through the Accountant-General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, at the 26th Annual Tax Conference of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria in Abuja, noted that tax revenue is currently the highest income source for the country.

The government said that based on the current high revenue from taxes, members of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee were always looking forward to the figures from the Federal Inland Revenue Service every month, in order to have funds to share to the three tiers of government.