Budget 2022: FG plans aggressive VAT, other tax regime
Budget 2022: FG plans aggressive VAT, other tax regime
Amidst on-going controversy over its rights to collection of Value Added Tax (VAT), across the country, the Federal Government is set to implement an aggressive VAT revenue drive which it expects to yield about N316 billion next year.
This forms part of the 2022 fiscal policy plan which is also reflected in the Appropriation Act presented previous week to the National Assembly by the executive arm of the government.
Under the aggressive tax revenue drive, the FG is also expecting to rake in N29.3 billion as charges from electronic money transfers, a new revenue line it hopes to implement in 2022.
The targeted VAT revenue for 2022 is 99.2 percent higher than N158.95 billion budgeted in 2021 and represents 3.12 percent contribution to the total targeted N10.13 trillion government’s revenue for the year.
Recall that the FG had in 2020 introduced various consumption taxes and increased the VAT rate to 7.5 percent from five percent in a bid to raise its revenue in the face of falling oil prices.
The revenue drive comes at a time the federal government is enmeshed in legal tussle with some states over collection and control of VAT revenue.
Currently, the FG is locked in a legal battle with the Rivers and Lagos state governments as some other states threaten to join the battle to take over VAT collection in their respective states from the FG.
However, five northern states, including Adamawa, Plateau, Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara are set to take side with the FG in the battle against Rivers and Lagos state governments over VAT.
Besides raising the expected VAT revenue for 2022, the government also raised its target from other tax heads under the non-oil revenue tax, which include the Company Income Tax (CIT), customs revenue and the federation account levies, leading to 59.3 percent increase in the 2022 non-oil revenue (N2.132trn) budget when compared to N992.63 trillion budgeted this year.
Specifically, the government expects to raise N909.30 billion from CIT, which is a 100.07 percent increase over N454.48 billion budgeted in 2021.
Customs revenue was increased by 146.2 percent to N834.12 billion from N338.85 billion, while the federation account levies was increased by 78.41 percent to N71.97 billion from N40.34 billion budgeted in 2021.
Analysis of the 2021 budget shows that the government has so far surpassed its non-oil revenue as at the end of August 31, 2021 following the aggressive revenue drive.
