COMPANIES INCOME TAX COMPUTATION AND …

1 COMPANIES INCOME TAX COMPUTATION AND treatment IN financial STATEMENTS PRESENTED BY OLUFUNKE SODIPO TAX MANAGER: PEAK PROFESSIONAL services IN HOUSE SEMINAR SERIES NO 4 PEAK PROFESSIONAL services (CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS) NIGERIA A member of Kreston International | A global network of independent accounting firms INTRODUCTION Taxation is defined from elementary economics as the act of imposing a compulsory levy by the government or its agency on individuals or firms or goods and services .

2 Taxes imposed on Individuals is known as Personal INCOME Tax while those imposed on COMPANIES could take various forms like COMPANIES INCOME Tax, Education Tax, Petroleum Profit Tax, or Capital Gains Tax. Value Added Tax is imposed on Goods and services . The amount and time of tax to be paid by an Individual or business organization is guided by the enabling act governing the type of tax. For example, the amount of tax payable by an individual is governed by the personal INCOME tax act, while the INCOME tax payable by a company is regulated by the Company s INCOME Tax Act.

3 The aim of this paper is to explain how the various taxes can be calculated within the framework of the enabling act. The paper also presents the accounting treatment of the computed tax to ensure that it is in accordance with relevant accounting standards. SESSION OBJECTIVE At the end of this session, members of staff will be able to compute the following taxes for COMPANIES . 1. INCOME Tax. 2. Withholding Tax 3. Education Tax 4. Deferred Tax 5. Value Added Tax 6. Capital Gains Tax In addition to the COMPUTATION , members of staff will also be able to give the computed tax appropriate treatment in the accounts.

4 This paper does not cover Personal INCOME Tax and Petroleum Profits Tax. They will be dealt with under a separate cover. This paper is very important because all our clients are required to pay one form of tax or the other. Since we also handle their tax engagements, the knowledge is important because it will help us to protect the interest of our clients. To facilitate ease of understanding, the paper is divided into two major sessions. Section one deals with tax computations while section two is the accounting treatment of the computed tax.

5 SECTION 1 TAX COMPUTATIONS The taxes covered in this section are as follows: 1. Value Added Tax 2. Withholding Tax 3. Capital Gains Tax 4. Education Tax 5. COMPANIES INCOME Tax and 6. Deferred Tax. VALUE ADDED TAX Value Added Tax is the tax payable on supply of taxable goods and services . Businesses (even individuals) usually pay VAT when they buy goods and services and charge VAT on goods and services they sell. At the end of a given period (usually monthly) businesses will be required to file their VAT returns to the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

6 This is done by comparing the amount of VAT paid on goods and services purchased (known as input VAT) with the amount charged on goods and services sold (known as output VAT). The net amount in the period is the amount to be remitted to the Revenue. ILLUSTRATION: ABC limited paid 5,000 as VAT for items purchased in the production process in January, 2013 and made VATable supplies of N100,000 during the same month. With a VAT rate of 5%, you are required to calculate the company s output VAT and the amount of VAT that should be remitted to the Revenue.

7 CAUTION ON INPUT VAT 1) Input VAT is only recoverable from Output VAT if the input relates to goods and services purchased directly for resale or manufacture of a product 2) Certain goods and services are VAT exempt. , Basic food items, medical supplies and exported goods and services Members of staff are required to familiarize themselves with the VAT act as it is essential for their professional practice and development. WITHHOLDING TAX Withholding tax otherwise known as advance corporation tax is an advance tax on INCOME deducted at source.

8 Under the Nigerian Tax laws, the payers of sums due to another person are required to withhold certain amount from such sums as tax and pay the net amount to the payee. The amount withheld is known as withholding tax and it is payable to the relevant tax authority. The applicable rates depend on the nature of transaction and are briefly summarized in the following table: NATURE OF SERVICE OR ACTIVITY RATE COMPANY RATE INDIVIDUAL Building, Construction and related activity Consultancy and professional services 10% 5% Management services 10% 5% Technical services 10% 5% Commissions 10% 5% COMPUTATION of withholding tax payable is very simple.

9 We are simply required to apply the relevant rate on the amount payable to the payee and remit to the relevant tax authority. Please note that the relevant tax authority for company is the Federal Inland Revenue Service while for individual or enterprise is the State Internal Revenue Service where the person is resident. QUESTION PPS is a firm of accountants with very smart people. They are about signing a consulting agreement with TNL who insists on doing things correctly by deducting appropriate WHT. If the objective of PPS is to minimize exposure to WHT, which platform should they use?

10 Peak Professional services or Peak Professional services Limited? Please give reasons CAPITAL GAINS TAX (CGT) Capital Gains is chargeable at 10% on capital gains arising from disposal of assets. Section 3 of CGT Act defines Capital Assets as meaning all forms of property including: Options, debts and incorporeal property Any currency other than Nigerian Currency Any form of property created by the person disposing of it, or otherwise coming to be owned without being acquired. Stocks and shares are exempted from Capital Gains Tax.