A data report has revealed that the Federal Government under the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has made N11.5trillion from taxes paid by companies and business organizations.
The data from Company Income Tax (CIT) reports, which was published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) between 2015 and 2022, showed CIT collected by the Federal Inland Revenue Service stood at N1.3tn when the President assumed office in 2015.
This amount dipped by 26 per cent in 2016 when the country’s economy went into recession due to a significant drop in oil prices.
It started an upward trajectory between 2017 and 2020, as the government generated a total of N5.3trillion during this period.
Companies Income Tax is a tax on the profits of incorporated entities in Nigeria. It also includes the tax on the profits of non-resident companies carrying on business in Nigeria.
The tax is paid by limited liability companies, inclusive of the public limited liability companies, and is commonly referred to as a corporate tax.
The CIT rate is 30 per cent for large companies (i.e. companies with gross turnover greater than NGN 100m), assessed on a preceding year basis (i.e. tax is charged on profits for the accounting year ending in the year preceding assessment).
According to the data, the highest contributors to the CIT were the manufacturing, Information Communication Technology and financial services sectors.
Also, a critical evaluation of 2022 CIT records showed a significant hike in taxes paid by companies across the board.
From the data, tax from firms in the information and communication sector rose by 158.51 per cent from N51.05bn in the third quarter of 2021 to N131.97bn in the corresponding period in 2022.
In the same vein, manufacturers paid the most taxes during the period in review, as the Federal Government increased the number of taxes collectable by the Federal Inland Revenue Services from 39 to 61 items.
Some of the new taxes as contained in the schedule to the taxes and levies (Approved list for collection) Act (Amendment Order), 2015, include: national information technology development levy, economic development levy, environmental (ecological) fee or levy; inter-state road taxes; mining, milling and quarrying fee; infrastructure maintenance charge; social services contribution tax, and wharf landing fee where applicable.
Others are entertainment tax, produce sales tax, property tax (where applicable); fire service charge; slaughter or abattoir fee, where state finance is involved, among others.
Further checks revealed that CIT paid by manufacturers increased by 52.3 per cent from N91.2bn paid in the third quarter of 2021 to N138.9bn in the corresponding quarter of 2022.
The scenario has created room where it appears the productive sector was being overburdened by taxes because of the government’s inability to widen the tax bracket and capture more taxpayers.

By: Corlins Walter