The Nigerian government, led by President Bola Tinubu, plans to begin collecting Value Added Taxes (VAT) from the unorganized sector. The administration claims that doing so will lower the number of taxes paid by the unorganized sector.
The government is collaborating with the Market Traders Association of Nigeria (MATAN) to collect and remit VAT from their members, particularly those in the informal sector, using a unified systems technology, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) announced in a statement released on Monday.
Further information revealed that the collaboration between FIRS and MATAN was known as the VAT Direct Initiative. Through this partnership, FIRS and MATAN work together to raise awareness of VAT collection and remittance in the marketplace and informal sector while also streamlining VAT payment and remittance for these sectors using a specially designed digital platform.
Additionally, they stated that MATAN would have a digital platform that would list its members, issue digital ID cards to them, and track their revenue in order to guarantee that VAT is collected and sent back to the FIRS.
The initiative will be the first of its type to use technology to promote cooperation between the FIRS and the marketplace for the collection and repatriation of VAT, according to the announcement.
FIRS claims that by working with security personnel to lessen the activities of touts and self-imposed tax collectors, this would help prevent double taxation in the marketplace.
The statement said, “This will also increase VAR revenue generation for the three tiers of government, which in turn means more money to fund social amenities and infrastructure.”
Each MATAN member will receive an ID card containing their Tax Identification Number and other personal data after being enumerated.
Value Added Tax (VAT) in Nigeria increased by 1.75% from one quarter to the next, reaching N709.59 billion in the first three months of 2023.
By accounting for 29.65% of the total VAT collected in Q1 2023, the manufacturing sector was the one that collected the highest VAT.
With a 19.29% share, information and communication trailed mining and quarrying in importance.