FG nets N797bn from VAT in 10 months – Adeosun

Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, on Tuesday, disclosed that the Federal Government revenue from Value Added Tax (VAT) between January and October stood at N797.51 billion, even as she assured the aggressive tax compliance drive will be extended to the private sector and Ministries Department and Agencies (MDAs).

Adeosun, who disclosed this in a statement, said that non-oil revenue represents 46.15 per cent of the 2017 VAT budget of N1.728 trillion. According to her, the figure is an increase of 19.78 per cent over the corresponding period in 2016.

Adeosun, in shedding more light on the revenue, said the highest VAT collection of N86.71 billion was achieved in September, while N84.67 billion and N83.315 billion were recorded in May and October, respectively. She added that the lowest VAT earning of N69.20 billion was in March.

Adeosun explained that the Federal Government gets 15 per cent of VAT revenue, while the States and Local Governments receive 50 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively.

The Minister reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to aggressively growing the tax revenue base in order drive economic growth.

“Revenue mobilisation is key to national growth and critical to the success of Nigeria’s economic reform agenda. We have an unacceptably low level of non-oil revenue and much of that is driven by a failure to collect tax revenues.

“With a tax to Gross Domestic Product ratio of only six per cent, which is one of the lowest levels in the world, we have a lot of work to do if we are going to build a sustainable revenue base that will deliver inclusive growth.

Improving VAT and other tax collections is key to Nigeria’s revenue strategy,” Adeosun explained. She added that the country’s revenue strategy to improve tax through the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), would lead to a broader tax base and more sustainable revenue for all tiers of government.

“The Nigerian Government is committed to the diversification of the nation’s revenue base. Nigeria’s sole dependence on oil poses enormous challenge on the economy.