· Records N76bn shortfall
By Sarah NEGEDU
Internally Generated Revenue in the Federal Capital Territory dropped considerably in 2022, moving the territory away from the N200billion annual IGR target it set for itself.
Going by the 2022 IGR Report for the 36 States and the FCT recently released by the NBS, the FCT had a shortfall of N76billion to meet this target, as the administration generated only N124 billion in the year under review.
Former FCT Minister, Muhammed Bello, had in 2022 disclosed that the territory generates N200 billion annually through aggressive revenue drive.
Bello told the 40th Session of the State House Media Briefing that the administration hoped to go passed Lagos as the state with the highest internally generating revenue in the country.
However, the recent data released by the National Bureau of Statistics indicates that lackluster performance seems to cut across all states of the federation, as the IGR report suggests that most of the states recorded either a drop or a sluggish growth.
Collectively, the 36 states of the federation and the FCT, generated N1.92 trillion in internally generated revenue in 2022 compared to the N1.89 trillion recorded in 2021, which represented less than 2 percent year-on-year performance.
Though the FCT was among the three leading states in revenue generation, the nation’s capital did perform below expectations as it dropped from the N131,924,627,002.62 generated in 2021, to N124,366,774,519.25 in 2022.
A breakdown of taxes collected in the nation’s capital indicated that the FCT Administration collected N84,732,502,035.98 in Pay as You Earn, PAYE, taxes in 2022, and another N4,033,514,701.22 and N34,916 415.09, from Direct Assessment (personal income tax) and Stamp Duties respectively.
Other IGR sources saw the FCTA generating N114,455,464,63 as Capital Gain Tax, N8,871,447,120.71 as Withholding Tax and N26,579,938,781.62 from other taxes.
Like what was recorded in 2021, the leading states in total IGR during the year were Lagos, Rivers, as well as the FCT with N651,145,633,085.30, N172,823,232,535.44, and N124,366,774,519.25, respectively.
On the other, Kebbi, Taraba and Yobe, where the least performing states during the year with the value of N9,146,249,907.83, N10,238,110,125.95, and N10,456,776,796.18, respectively.
Meanwhile, Oyo, Lagos and Jigawa states were the three leading states with highest LGA revenue reported during the year. The states recorded N11,832,437,020.33, N11,505,586,283.35, and N8,700,993,591.78, respectively.
PAYE was the most contributing revenue source during the year, as it recorded 67.62percent share to the total tax generated revenues nationwide. While capital gains tax was the least in the year under review with 0.24percent share to total tax revenue.
Going by its 2022 IGR performance, the FCT Administration still has a huge task ahead if it must meet its target of over N250billion monthly internally generated revenue in the territory.
Mandate Secretary of the Economic Planning, Revenue Generation, and Public Private Partnerships Secretariat, Chinedum Elechi, at a meeting with revenue officers said it was even possible for the administration to generate as much as N300bn in a month, adding that it will have a “human face,” to deal with the issues of multiple taxation in the FCT.
He said, “We think that FCTA can do N250 billion a month on a good day, and that is the sort of target we are looking at.
“We can even do N300 billion a month in some good periods. So that is what we want to work out. However, in trying to grow revenue, it will also have a human face, because we are going to be dealing with issues of multiple taxation, so things are going to be streamlined.”
Elechi also stated that it was important for all revenue-generating Secretariats, Departments and Agencies to work at generating revenue for the infrastructural development of the FCT, particularly in the face of dwindling statutory allocation from the Federal Government.
“Improved IGR is paramount to the funding of the Administration to augment the dwindling Federal Government’s Monthly Statutory Allocations for accelerated infrastructural development in the FCT. Therefore, there is a strong need for all of us to redouble our efforts to attain our IGR targets and deliver on these enormous responsibilities.”
