Under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Nigerian Federal Government has generated a total of N10.1 trillion in VAT income.
The most recent National Bureau of Statistics study revealed that during the course of eight years, VAT profits increased on an annual basis.
Nigeria made N759.4 billion in 2015, N777.5 billion in 2016, N972.4 billion in 2017, and N1.1 trillion in 2018.
VAT collection totaled N1.2 trillion in 2019, N1.5 trillion in 2020, N2.1 trillion in 2021, and N2.5 trillion paid in 2022.
The rise in VAT collection may have been caused by the federal government’s increase in VAT from 5% to 7.5% in 2020.
The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, renewed her call that the incoming government should increase the VAT from the current 7.5 per cent to 10 per cent.
When products are purchased or services are rendered, a 7.5% consumption tax known as VAT is levied by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, or FIRS, and it is paid by the ultimate consumer.
The Federation Accounts Allocation Committee distributes VAT funds to the federal, state, and local governments.
The federal government’s efforts to collect income from the non-oil industry have been urged to stop by financial experts.
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise’s (CPPE) director, Dr. Muda Yusuf, and the Chief Executive Officer of CFG Advisory, Mr. Tilewa Adebayo, both stated that more needs to be done by the government to include yet-to-be-taxed industries in the country’s tax system.
