By GINIKA OKOYE

Six banks paid N751.796 billion as income tax to the Federal and State Governments and agencies for the 2024 financial year ended on December 31, 2024.

The figure represents a 189.9 per cent increase from the N395.79 billion tax paid in the 2023 financial year.

A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent that monitored the banks audited statements on Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) platform reveals that the banks also recorded profits in their earnings.

The banks analysed include Zenith Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Plc, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc and Wema Bank Plc.

Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) paid N248 billion as against N69.65 billion paid in the corresponding period of 2023.

Zenith Bank Plc paid N293.956 billion against N119.1 billion paid as income tax expenses in 2023, while Fidelity Bank Plc paid N93.777 billion for 2024 FY against N24,806 billion paid in 2023.

UBA Plc paid N37.15 billion as against N149.98 billion paid in 2023, Stanbic IBTC Plc paid N78. 485 billion against N32.290 billion paid as tax in 2023.

Wema Bank Plc paid N16.2 million to the government as against N7.675 million paid in 2023.

The banks listed categories of taxes paid to include corporate tax, and withholding tax on dividend income.

Others according to them are education tax and National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure- Information Technology (IT) levy, Police Trust Fund, windfall levy/tax and deferred tax among others.

Reacting to the tax increase, Mr Okechukwu Unegbu, a financial expert and a former President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) said the tax increase would be beneficial to the government.

Unegbu stressed the need for more companies, especially government owned to list on the stock exchange market.

The financial expert who said that only about 140 companies were listed on the country?s stock market, said that no fewer than 3,000 companies were listed in the market in other countries.

He frowned at the delay by the government to list the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) in the stock market.

Unegbu appealed to the government to list its owned companies in the stock market to encourage other private companies to list.

?It is so sad that rather than more companies listing at the stock market, they are exiting the market and it is not good for the economy.

?About 140 companies are listed in the stock market, it is rather very abysmal because in other markets, you have more than 2,000 to 3,000 companies being listed.

?Getting more companies to list will guarantee more taxation and then guarantee more income for the government.

?The business operating environment is not conducive for people to come and list, the government needs to do something.

?We have been talking and recommending that NNPCL should be listed on the stock exchange but up till now, that has not been done, the government is sitting over that.

?If government does that and lists their own companies, you will see that a lot of people will benefit and a lot of companies will come to the market to list,? he said.

Ms Pearl Ogbunobi, another financial expert, appealed to the government to channel the tax into the development of infrastructure and local companies in the country.

?We want to see the huge tax reflect on our infrastructures,? she said.

NAN reports that the banks also posted N3.41 trillion as Profit After Tax (PAT) for the year 2024 ended against the N2.1 trillion recorded in 2023 financial year.

The figure represented a 62.38 per cent increase from the amount recorded during the 2023 financial year (FY). (NAN)

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