FG says Nigeria’s VAT lowest in West Africa

The Federal Government on Tuesday raised concern over the performance of the Value Added Tax in Nigeria saying it is the lowest in the West African region.

While describing the development as worrisome, the government stressed the need for a change in policies, adding that the country’s VAT rate was less than one per cent to the Gross Domestic Product.

The Director of Tax Policy in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Basheer Abdulkadir, raised the concern at the opening event of a three-day workshop on the harmonisation of Nigeria’s VAT Act with ECOWAS directives.

The programme was organised by the ECOWAS Commission under the context of implementation of the Support Programme for Tax Transition in West Africa.