The Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, says the Federal Government will increase the Value Added Tax on some items in the course of the year. Some of the items according to her, will include carbonated drinks as well as some luxury items. She stated this on Wednesday at the launch of the Strategic Revenue Growth Initiative in Abuja, targeted at improving revenue sources for government. Ahmed said the move had become imperative as a result of the fiscal challenges the government is confronted with in providing infrastructure for its people. She, however, noted that the increment will only be done after due consultation with the National Assembly. “There will be a VAT increase. During the course of 2019, we will have clarity as to which items and what the rate will be and we will have to take a request to the National Assembly for amendment before it takes effect. “There is also going to be luxury tax. Already, there is luxury tax imposed on things like jets, yach...

FG Generates N808bn From VAT in 9 Months –NBS The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), says the revenue generated from Value Added Tax (VAT) from sectoral distribution from first to third quarters of 2018 was N808 billion. VAT is a consumption tax placed on a product whenever value is added at each stage of the supply chain, from production to the point of sale. Sectoral Distribution of Value Added Tax for Q2 and Q3, 2018 posted on the bureau’s website, showed an increase in the revenue generated from VAT in during the year under review. The report showed that the sum of N273.50 billion was generated as VAT in the third quarter, N266.73 billion in the second quarter and 269.79 billion in first quarter of the year respectively.