The Nigerian government has collected a total of N155.58 billion in income tax payments from ten banks operating in the country

The tax payments were captured in the bank’s financial statement ending December 31, 2022, and submitted to the Nigerian exchange.

Details show that the income tax expenses of the banks is a 33.50% increase from the N116.54 billion they paid in income tax during the previous fiscal year.

The banks that made the list are Zenith Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Sterling Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc, Unity Bank, and Jaiz Bank Plc.

Nigerian law requires large corporations with a gross turnover of over N100 million to pay a Company Income Tax rate of 30% on their profits to the Federal Government through the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

Additionally, banks are mandated to pay other taxes, such as Education Tax, Police Trust Fund levy, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), National Information Technology Development Fund (NITDEF) levy, Financial sector clean-up levy, and National fiscal Stabilization levy.

A breakdown of the results indicates that of the 10 lenders, Zenith Bank paid the most income tax of N60.74 billion last year compared with N35.82 billion in 2021

It was followed by GTCO, which paid CIT of N31.87 billion in 2022 compared to N28.82 billion in the preceding year

However, UBA reported that its income tax expenses for last year dropped to N30.60 billion from N34.40 billion in 2021.

Tier 2 lender, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, reported that its income tax expenses for 2022 jumped to N19.54 billion from N9.04 billion in the preceding year.

Similarly, Fidelity Bank’s income tax expenses increased to N4.90 billion last year from N2. 49 billion in 2021. FCMB also reported that its income tax expenses rose to N4.20 billion in 2022 from N1.33 billion in the preceding year.

However, at N1.95 billion, Wema Bank’s income tax expense last year was N1. 50 billion below the N3.45 billion it paid in 2021. Sterling Bank’s income tax expenses increased to N1.42 billion in 2022 from N959 million in the preceding year.

Unity Bank reported an income tax expense of N117.20 million last year lower than the N158.88 million incurred by the lender in 2021.

Non-interest lender, Jaiz Bank’s, income tax expenses, however, rose to N248.54 million in 2022, from N73.58 million in the preceding year