*VAT: 55% Lagos; 20% FCT; 6% Rivers; 5% Kano; 1% Kaduna
“I’m hoping that one day, finance commissioners will stop needing to come to Abuja monthly to share FAAC, because IGR (internally generated revenue) will be sufficient.”
Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, has said that 87 percent of Nigeria’s Value Added Tax (VAT) comes from four states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with more than half of total VAT coming from Lagos State alone.
Mrs Adeosun listed the four states to be Lagos, Kano, Rivers, Kaduna and Abuja.
Speaking at the parley between the Federal Government and Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) in Abuja, Adeosun said noted also that only 13 percent of Nigeria’s VAT came from 32 other states in the federation.
According to her, no country in the world with high tax compliance rate is poor, and no rich country has a low tax compliance rate.
“There is no poor country that has a high tax compliance rate, and no rich country that has a low one,” Adeosun said.
Quoting current VAT collection data across Nigeria, the minister said, “55% of Nigeria’s VAT was collected in Lagos State; FCT, 20%; Rivers, 6%; Kano, 5%; and Kaduna, 1%.
She said: “I’m hoping that one day, finance commissioners will stop needing to come to Abuja monthly to share FAAC, because IGR (internally generated revenue) will be sufficient.”
The minister had earlier complained about the country’s abysmal tax-to-GDP ratio, which she said was at six percent, describing it as one of the lowest in the world.
Speaking on the topic, “The Funding Nigeria Needs,” the minister said states must do more to generate revenue from within and not solely depend on the federal government for allocation.
