Eight commercial banks paid N200.19 billion as income tax in the first quarter of 2024 (Q1’24).

Data from the Q1’24 Financial Statements of the banks showed that the N200.19 billion   represents 203.7 percent year-on-year increase (YoY)   when compared to N65.91 billion tax they paid in Q1’23.

The banks are Guaranty Trust Bank, GTB (N52.2 billion) , Zenith Bank (N61.85 billion), Access Bank (N43.45 billion), Fidelity Bank (N8.05 billion), Stanbic IBTC (N17.07 billion), United Bank for Africa, UBA (N13.76 billion),  First City Monument Bank, FCMB(N2.34 billion) and  Wema Bank (N1.47 billion).

The profit before tax (PBT) of the eight banks stood at N1.33 trillion representing 355 percent growth from N374.82 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2023.

The percentage of tax from the PBT of the eight banks was 15.04 percent.

According to the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Company Income Tax (CIT) is a tax imposed on profit of a company from all sources. The rate of tax is 30 percent  of the total profit of a company.

However, some profits are exempted from CIT provided they are not derived from trade or business activities carried out by the company e.g. Cooperative society.

Analysis of 2023 CIT data from the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS,  showed that  collections increased by 73.14 percent to N4. 9 trillion in 2023, up from N2.83 trillion recorded in the previous year.