Oh my thanks for this nice, simply put but very clear write up. i've been quite confused over what was going recently with regard to the vat issue and you broke them down so simple for a layman to understand. nice work
As good a development as this is, a lot of issues are still not clear. What happens to the 35% that is due to local governments?? In the present arrangement, I can’t see how a state like zamfara benefit from VAT collected in Lagos.
Wonderful piece. Very enlightening. I do hope the states takes control of their VAT and help develop themselves. If this happens, this will make other states sit and think on how to generate revenue for themselves rather than waiting for the FG to share money all bthe time only for some of those states Governor who do nothing to develop their states and end up building big mansions at detriment of not paying their workers
Amazing Article 👏 👏.. This is actually a great move by the state governments, provided that they would use the money to further develop the lives of their citizens and force every state of the federation to stop depending less financially on Abuja.
This started so well but my expectations were subverted at the end.
If I read correctly (and I read this half asleep and groggy eyed), the subtle conclusion is that the states should collect taxes not the federal government. This - although commendable - is a half measure. It is climbing up from the fire to the frying pan. We would just be switching from one cruel master to [perhaps] another cruel master that's from our state. The problem is not who is collecting the taxes but the taxes itself. I really thought this was an anti-tax article when I began reading. The taxes are the problem. Taxation means money is been taken out of the hands of individuals and firms who have better use for it and have a higher capacity (both in volume and efficiency) to employ labour and in so doing, grow the economy far better than any federal, state or local government can.
I don't want to end up writing my own article in the comment section so I'll stop now. It's a well written article though.
As a journalist, I must commend you on this piece. Well done.
Someday I hope we can also beam the spotlight on the maritime industry plagued with extortion, multiple agencies collecting unremitted levies, incidences of double taxation, agencies whose responsibilities are unclear and in many cases duplicated, the 'man-made' problems of faulty scanners(which cost billions to install), poor servers and a call truck-up system that never quite lives up to expectation.
The debt to gdp ratio is not really an effective comparison.
The premise is the taxes make of a portion of GDP that will end up in the governments coffers, since gdp is sum of value created in a country over a given period (1 yr)
The comparison should be % tax of GDP or actual income.
But this is a brilliant write up.
Also, the poor in Nigeria are more effectively taxed by way of levies and task forces. Sometimes they pay as much as 20% of their revenue daily.
We also haven’t spoken about the various replicas of property taxes and levies issued by private individuals.
I’d opine the increasing the tax net is a political problem and not a socio-economic one.
Does the power of states to collect VAT, automatically translate to a power by states to set VAT rates?
Are states not going to account for VAT collected so 'sharing' can occur (what is governor Wike's we will not use rivers money to develop the North all about)
Oh my thanks for this nice, simply put but very clear write up. i've been quite confused over what was going recently with regard to the vat issue and you broke them down so simple for a layman to understand. nice work
As good a development as this is, a lot of issues are still not clear. What happens to the 35% that is due to local governments?? In the present arrangement, I can’t see how a state like zamfara benefit from VAT collected in Lagos.
Will this new development not lead to multiple taxation, hence higher inflation?
Wonderful piece. Very enlightening. I do hope the states takes control of their VAT and help develop themselves. If this happens, this will make other states sit and think on how to generate revenue for themselves rather than waiting for the FG to share money all bthe time only for some of those states Governor who do nothing to develop their states and end up building big mansions at detriment of not paying their workers
Amazing Article 👏 👏.. This is actually a great move by the state governments, provided that they would use the money to further develop the lives of their citizens and force every state of the federation to stop depending less financially on Abuja.
Beautiful write up. Thanks for this piece.
Interesting, I pray has a positive impact on the common man
This started so well but my expectations were subverted at the end.
If I read correctly (and I read this half asleep and groggy eyed), the subtle conclusion is that the states should collect taxes not the federal government. This - although commendable - is a half measure. It is climbing up from the fire to the frying pan. We would just be switching from one cruel master to [perhaps] another cruel master that's from our state. The problem is not who is collecting the taxes but the taxes itself. I really thought this was an anti-tax article when I began reading. The taxes are the problem. Taxation means money is been taken out of the hands of individuals and firms who have better use for it and have a higher capacity (both in volume and efficiency) to employ labour and in so doing, grow the economy far better than any federal, state or local government can.
I don't want to end up writing my own article in the comment section so I'll stop now. It's a well written article though.
Simply a brilliant write-up
Please do some research and write an article on the Nigerian Customs. The shenanigans and corruption there will blow your mind.
As a journalist, I must commend you on this piece. Well done.
Someday I hope we can also beam the spotlight on the maritime industry plagued with extortion, multiple agencies collecting unremitted levies, incidences of double taxation, agencies whose responsibilities are unclear and in many cases duplicated, the 'man-made' problems of faulty scanners(which cost billions to install), poor servers and a call truck-up system that never quite lives up to expectation.
The debt to gdp ratio is not really an effective comparison.
The premise is the taxes make of a portion of GDP that will end up in the governments coffers, since gdp is sum of value created in a country over a given period (1 yr)
The comparison should be % tax of GDP or actual income.
But this is a brilliant write up.
Also, the poor in Nigeria are more effectively taxed by way of levies and task forces. Sometimes they pay as much as 20% of their revenue daily.
We also haven’t spoken about the various replicas of property taxes and levies issued by private individuals.
I’d opine the increasing the tax net is a political problem and not a socio-economic one.
Does the power of states to collect VAT, automatically translate to a power by states to set VAT rates?
Are states not going to account for VAT collected so 'sharing' can occur (what is governor Wike's we will not use rivers money to develop the North all about)