According to recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s manufacturing sector became the largest taxpayer during the second quarter of 2024, with contributions to tax reaching their highest point in nine months. This was against a backdrop of significant contraction and continued economic challenges faced by the industry.
In Q2 2024, manufacturers paid N405.86 billion in taxes including Company Income Tax(CIT) and Value Added Tax(VAT). The amount represented an increase of 84.1% from N220.35 billion collected during Q1 2024 but dropped marginally (by 2.1%) compared to Q2 2023.
The CIT paid by manufacturers bounced back rather strongly during Q2 2024 to stand at N221.97 billion, an increase of 413.9% over what was collected in Q1 2024. It was however still lower than what was registered for this period in previous year by 15.5%. On the other hand, VAT collections rose to N183.89 billion representing an increase of 3.8% over Q1 2024 and 21.1% above those recorded during the same period last year (Q2 2023).
Manufacturers contributed 8.99% of all CITs collected in Nigeria as a whole and 11.78% for all VATs that moved through the country’s economy picture highlighted the current importance of this sector. Such developments are significant considering the fact that the sector has been noted to have contracted and remains fragile amid these economic and infrastructural challenges.