Nigeria generated the sum of N392.8 billion from company income taxes in the first quarter of 2021. This is contained in the quarterly report on company income tax by sectors, recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
This represents an increase of N97.1 billion (32.84%) compared to N295.7 billion recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2020 and a 32.82% increase compared to N294.72 billion generated in the preceding period (Q4 2020).
Highlights
- Breweries, Bottling, and Beverages sector generated the highest amount of company income tax with N23.26 billion generated.
- It was closely followed by Professional Services including Telecoms which generated a sum of N18.17 billion while State Ministries & Parastatals generated N17.35 billion in the review period.
- Textile and Garment Industry generated the least company income tax in the period under review with N13.49 million closely followed by Mining (N34.4 million) and Automobiles and Assemblies with N73.57 million.
- Out of the total amount generated in Q1 2021, N152.33 billion was generated as CIT locally while N184.59 billion was generated as foreign CIT payment.
- The balance of N55.85 billion was generated as CIT from other payments.
READ: Nigeria exempts small businesses from Company Income Tax
It is worth noting that foreign payments are bulk payments from JP Morgan account which cannot be attributed to any office or sector, while other payments are payments through E-transact, E-tax pay, and Remitta (GIFMIS), that is Government Integrated Financial Management Information System.
Breweries & Bottling sector tops list
The breweries, botting, and beverages sector led the list of sectors with the highest company income tax generated in Q1 2021, overtaking professional services, which had led the list in the previous quarter.
- Breweries, bottling, and beverages generated a sum of N23.26 billion in the review period, representing 5.6% of the total company income tax generated by Nigeria, while professional services and telecoms followed closely with N18.17 billion, hereby accounting for 4.6% of the total.
- Other sectors, which made the list of top sectors include, State ministries and parastatals with N17.35 billion, manufacturing (N16.25 billion), oil-producing (N15.36 billion), and trading with N13.5 billion.
- In terms of the increase in sectoral company income tax, the breweries, bottling, and beverages sector recorded an increase of 329.5% year-on-year in Q1 2021 compared to N5.42 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2020. It also increased by 109.3% compared to N11.11 billion recorded in Q4 2020.
- Stevedoring, clearing and forwarding businesses was a distant second on the list with N1.6 billion generated as company income tax. This represents a 73.4% increase when compared to N921.92 million recorded in Q1 2020.
READ: Nigeria’s company income tax revenue drops to N1.41 trillion in 2020
Why this matters
Nairametrics had reported a 52.93% year-on-year increase in value-added taxes generated by Nigeria in Q1 2021 as it recorded N496.39 billion VAT. This means that Nigeria has received a sum of N792.1 billion in Q1 2021 from CIT and VAT.
Revenue generated from these taxes represents 86.1% of the projected tax revenue (N920.14 billion) in the 2021 budget document. With crude oil prices growing in recent weeks and projected to hit $80 per barrel by summer, this revenue is expected to witness a moderate increase in subsequent quarters.