Company income tax paid by local firms surged 249% in Q2 2024

By Abubakar Yunusa

Tax payments from local companies in Nigeria saw a massive 249.2 percent jump in the second quarter (Q2) of 2024, according to the latest company income tax (CIT) report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The CIT, also known as corporate tax, is levied on the profits made by companies operating in Nigeria. It is regulated by the Companies Income Tax Act (CITA) and enforced by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
Currently, the tax is charged at 30 percent for companies with more than N100 million in turnover, and 20 percent for companies with a turnover ranging between N25 million and N100 million.
NBS said local companies contributed N1.35 trillion in taxes to the federal government in Q2, compared to N386.49 billion in the previous quarter.
While foreign firms operating in Nigeria contributed N1.12 trillion in Q2 — an increase of 87.2 percent compared to the N598.13 billion reported in Q1.
The NBS report showed that the agricultural sector contributed the highest company income tax in Q2, showing a remarkable 474.50 percent increase from the previous quarter.
“On a quarter-on-quarter basis, agriculture, forestry, and fishing recorded the highest growth rate with 474.50%, followed by financial and insurance activities and manufacturing with 429.76% and 414.15%, respectively,” the report said.
Several sectors experienced a decline in company income tax payments during the quarter under review.
“On the other hand, activities of households as employers, undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use, had the lowest growth rate with -30.22%, followed by activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies with -15.67%,” NBS said.