Way to go.

Actually irrelevant ruling cos FIR can also collect tax when they realise they can. Some countries have both state and federal tax for all products.
Them next wise up yet

They've been stealing from the states all these while.
The parasites

LadyExcellency:
Every State should answer their fathers name.

More money to Southern States especially commercial cities.

The companies shouldn't collect VAT from distribution outlets and pay them to Lagos and Ogun States for housing their headquarters.

VATs should now be based on distribution locations and not factory or headquarters locations.

it will be in the best interest of states especially Lagos and Ogun which are industrial powerhouses to ask to be joined in this suite as co-plaintiffs since this judgement will benefit them the most and the battle towards the supreme Court will be long and hard but I doubt if party politics will allow them have sense

Long overdue. Why will I drink beer � in Enugu and a sharia adherent up north that abhors alcohol will want to benefit from tax thereof?. If you reject the devil, reject his handwork. Shikena!.

LadyExcellency:
Every State should answer their fathers name.

More money to Southern States especially commercial cities.

The companies shouldn't collect VAT from distribution outlets and pay them to Lagos and Ogun States for housing their headquarters.

VATs should now be based on distribution locations and not factory or headquarters locations.

what about the factories? Anyway that will never work, what i think can work is all parties to sit down and calculate what profits comes out of each factory, distribution outlets, and the headquarters, and pay tax approximately, Lagos, my state will hardly lose on that, most corporate headquarters pay corporate tax to FIRS not the LIRS, what lagos will lose is the payee tax, which i think should be paid to the state where the workers resides of work, not where the HQ is.

drnoel:
Actually irrelevant ruling cos FIR can also collect tax when they realise they can. Some countries have both state and federal tax for all products.
Them next wise up yet

"Some countries"
What does Nigeria's constitution say about tax? Remember the judgment is not based on the constitutions of "some countries" but on Nigeria's constitution.

If Lagos joins this suit, the FIRS is finished. They never give up their rights as regards taxation. The Hotel consumption tax is a case study.

So VAT money from Beer won't go to Sharia states again. E go make sense o

Praxis758:
This is an answered prayer for restructuring.

I see Nigerians and state governments resorting to the judiciary/court to codedly achieving the age-long demands for restructing.

Sincerely, the FG has no moral right to be collecting VAT. I wish other state governors use to court judgement to bar the FIRS from stealing taxes meant for them.

It means more money to the states, but we have thieves and wasters as governors who squander the funds

Is it now better for Abuja to squander it?

VillagePipu:


It's a Federal High Court, means it's a Federal court.

Provided it's based on the constitution, the Court of Appeal will uphold it and the Supreme Court will also uphold it.

the guy needs to go back to school.

This sounds good..
But then, till then.

For companies resident in a state, it may be a bit easier to interpret but for companies that render blanket services like the telcos, it won’t be easy to know who to pay their VAT to.
The way it’s done in the US is: every arm of government has its own tax rate on every taxable item. Once such item is ‘consumed’ tax return (amount) automatically goes to each arm of government as per the rate set for such item. There’s nothing like sharing the whole VAT/tax centrally again. And some states have various taxes that are different from other states.

seunmsg:
Lagos state will be the biggest beneficiary if this judgement stands!

Judgement looks fair enough

seunmsg:
Lagos state will be the biggest beneficiary if this judgement stands!

It won't stand.

donaldwhal:
For companies resident in a state, it may be a bit easier to interpret but for companies that render blanket services like the telcos, it won’t be easy to know who to pay their VAT to.
The way it’s done in the US is: every arm of government has its own tax rate on every taxable item. Once such item is ‘consumed’ tax return (amount) automatically goes to each arm of government as per the rate set for such item. There’s nothing like sharing the whole VAT/tax centrally again. And some states have various taxes that are different from other states.

Geo-location of the phone used to purchase airtime takes care of that.
You can't be blowing MTN masts in your state and be waiting to collect VAT from MTN.

midolian:
It won't stand.

It's a valid judgment, let the AGF, FG and FIRS appeal it. After they lose at the Court of Appeal, they will be trashed again at the Supreme Court.

I understand the fear of the North as regards this judgment. Let Northern states look inward and be more productive.

VillagePipu:


It's a judgment, let the AGF, FG and FIRS appeal it.

It will definitely be appealed and reversed. I wonder why this Vat issue is even a debate

State government right now will be jubilating

midolian:
It will definitely be appealed and reversed. I wonder why this Vat issue is even a debate

... The constitutional powers and competence of the Federal Government is limited to taxation of incomes, profits and capital gains which does not include VAT or any other species of sales, or levy other than those specifically mentioned in items 58 and 59 of the Exclusive Legislative List of the Constitution... "

It's not a debate, it's a lawsuit which has become a subsisting judgment.
The North is morbidly terrified of this judgment, I expect knee-jerk reactions in the coming days.

Let the FG appeal, it is not today states have been trouncing the FG in court. Lagos has done it severally.

Grgton:
It's how it's supposed to be!!

How would Abuja be collecting VAT and Personal income tax from states...

The high court in Rivers is right..

Nonsense

And collecting tax from different states they will use it to allocate to the north, but they will destroy beers forgetting that some of those money they are collecting came from tax from different breweries in the country.

Hisbah can destroy as many bottles of beer as they want in country that claims to be one Nigeria.

Is not about collecting tax, Wike is working more than Buhari, they should pay the tax to state.

midolian:
It will definitely be appealed and reversed. I wonder why this Vat issue is even a debate

That is if the judgment is found to be faulty right?

The ruling is good for the north since they claimed that they are the majority. So, therefore, they can collect more VAT and personal income tax and keep it for themselves.

They are building infrastructures in the north, they can collect more tax from the cowboys.

Hmmm
..I wonder what VAT they will be collecting in Yobe State.

Nice one!

Buharidgeneral:
Oro pesi je
My nothern people how market

More Almajaris on Southern streets. Even some Northern state governors will start begging on Southern streets just as their parents did.

This is the type of opposition I expect from PDP, not beer parlor discussions of drunk men they have been having.

This is very similar to what Tinubu and his political children did to PDP for several years. That short man Prof. Osinbajo really showed PDP pepper while in opposition.

Well done Wike the wicked one, well done PDP. This is is the real opposition.

Akwamkpuruamu:


Is it now better for Abuja to squander it?

I'm not supporting graft, I was saying what could likely befall the taxes in the hands of SGs

Both FG and SGs are birds of a feather

midolian:
It will definitely be appealed and reversed. I wonder why this Vat issue is even a debate

There is a similar judgement in Lagos recently where the Federal high court ruled that hotels, restaurants and event centres should not pay VAT to FIRS but should only pay consumption tax to Lagos State. So there is definitely a growing move against the current VAT arrangement at Federal level.

Actually, the legal basis for this latest judgement in Rivers state looks very sound and watertight as it is based on the constitution. The constitution provides that FG can only impose income tax and capital gains tax on companies. There's no mention of VAT at all there and this was deemed as deliberate. And if any other law (VAT Act in this instance) conflicts with the constitution, the constitution will be considered superior, and that other law deemed null and void.

From a practical view however, it will be difficult to enforce this judgement throughout the Federation due to the massive disruption it will cause to the existing tax structures and for political reasons( the Northern states will suffer most as they have the least volume of VATable activities in Nigeria as food and agricultural produce are VAT exempt).

So in the end, upon appeal, the supreme court may just bend against the very constitution it is supposed to uphold by reversing this current judgement. It'll be interesting to see the legal merits the supreme court will rely on to set this judgement aside.

VillagePipu:


It's a Federal High Court, means it's a Federal court.

Provided it's based on the constitution, the Court of Appeal will uphold it and the Supreme Court will also uphold it.

Dont you think the sharia CJ could influence things in favor of his blodas?
Just wondering.