The Federal Government has earned N10.1 trillion in revenue from the Value Added Tax, VAT, under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
The latest National Bureau of Statistics report showed that VAT earnings continued to rise annually throughout the eight years.
The country earned N759.4bn in 2015, N777.5bn in 2016, N972.4bn in 2017 and N1.1tn in 2018.
VAT collections in 2019 amounted to N1.2tn, N1.5tn in 2020, N2.1tn in 2021, and N2.5tn paid in 2022.
In 2020 the federal government increased VAT from 5 per cent to 7.5 per cent, a development that might have led to the increase in VAT collection figure.
A renewed call propagated by the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, that the incoming government should increase the VAT from the current 7.5 per cent to 10 per cent.
VAT is a 7.5 per cent consumption tax administered by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, when goods are purchased, services are delivered, and the final consumer bears it.
The federal, state and Local governments share the revenue from VAT through the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee.
Financial experts have called for the federal government to shut up its non-oil sector revenue collection efforts.
Dr Muda Yusuf, the director of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, CPPE and The Chief Executive Officer of CFG Advisory, Mr Tilewa Adebayo, disclosed that the government needed to do more to bring onboard yet-to-be-taxed sectors into the country’s tax net.
