VAT increase: AGoF says states, councils to get more allocation from February

STATES and local government areas are to get more cash this month, Accountant-General of the Federation (AGoF) Ahmed Idris hinted on Wednesday.

The windfall followed the implementation of the 7.5 per cent in Values Added Tax (VAT) which kicked off February 1.

Idris broke the news on additional funds for the two tiers of government on the sideline of the Federation Allocation Committee (FAAC0 2020 Retreat in Lagos.

According to the accountant-general, 50 per cent of VAT will accrue to the states, councils (35 per cent) and Federal Government (15 per cent).

The theme of the retreat is “Efficient Federation Revenue Allocation as a Nexus for National Economic Diversification”.

Idris said: “You will see the impact of VAT increase from next month because effectively it took off on Feb. 1 and the states and local governments will definitely get bigger figures in terms of VAT allocation.

“The Federal Government has 15 per cent, states have 50 per cent and the local government areas have 35 per cent.

“All these will be reflected in the succeeding months. I believe as from next month, we will see the impact of the increment of the VAT in the federation revenue.”

He restated the Federal Government commitment to increasing the contribution of the non-oil sector to the nation’s revenue base.

Idris said: “The states were being encouraged to tap into the vast potential that abound in their respective areas to increase their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

On the retreat’s benefits, he said it afforded Finance commissioners and accountant-generals of the states the opportunity to deepen their knowledge on budget implementation and revenue generation.

He said: “Each state has its own peculiarities. Each state has its own resources and what needs to be done is for each state to harness its own resources.

”The key ways to achieve this growth in revenue have been given at the retreat.”