Akinwande Soji-Ojo
The tax payments by local companies operating in Nigeria saw a massive 249.2% increment in the second quarter (Q2) of 2024, according to the latest company income tax (CIT) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The CIT, otherwise known as corporate tax, is levied on the profits made by firms operating in Nigeria. It is regulated by the Companies Income Tax Act (CITA) and enforced by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
The current tax is charged at 30% for companies with more than N100 million turnover, and 20% for companies with a turnover ranging between N25 million and N100 million.
According to the report, local companies contributed N1.35 trillion in taxes to the federal government in Q2, compared to N386.49 billion contributed in Q1 (January- March 2024).
Also, foreign companies operating in Nigeria contributed N1.72 trillion in Q2– an increase of 87.2%– compared to the N1.12 trillion reported in Q1.
A breakdown of the report indicated that agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector contributed the highest CIT in Q2, recording 474.50% increment from Q1 2024.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, agriculture, forestry, and fishing recorded the highest growth rate with 474.50%, followed by financial and insurance activities as well as manufacturing with 429.76% and 414.15%, respectively.
Meanwhile, several sectors experienced a decline in CIT payments during Q2.
Activities of households as employers, undifferentiated goods and services producing activities of households for own use, had the lowest growth rate with -30.22%, followed by activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies with -15.67%.
