Says Cement Arm Remits N412.9bn In 3 Years

Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, has advised the Nigeria’s Federal Government to automate the country’s tax system to enhance revenue collection, even as he commended the inauguration of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, chaired by Taiwo Oyedele, as a step in the right direction.
A statement by the group on Sunday quoted him as saying: “Maybe they should look at automating the tax system, just like what they did in India. If you go to India today, the country collects at least $1tr in various taxes. On petroleum products alone, India makes $100bn yearly, because they charge 100% on petroleum products.
“So, what I am suggesting is that people should pay tax and if you pay, you demand services from government. I think it is a social contract.
“Once people start seeing that government is using the money to do infrastructure, fund education, healthcare, whereby the citizens don’t need to go out to India or other countries for medical attention, then people would settle down and start paying taxes,” the renowned entrepreneur added.
Dangote Cement Plc, a subsidiary of Dangote Industries Limited, the statement continued, paid a total of N412.9bn to the coffers of the Federal Government in taxes for three consecutive years.
A breakdown of the figure showed that N97.24bn was paid in 2020, followed by N173.93bn the following year, and N141.69bn in 2022, in what it said re-affirms Aliko Dangote’s position that prompt and accurate tax payment is a duty for everyone who wishes to witness real growth and development. He posited that government cannot offer social services to the citizens without tax collection.
Other listed companies within Dangote Industries Limited, it continued, also paid huge taxes to the Federal Government during the said period, including Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc and NASCON Allied Industries Plc listed on the Nigeria Exchange Limited.
Analysis of the yearly annual reports of Dangote’s three listed companies indicated that they paid N114.31bn taxes in 2020; N187.17bn in 2021, and N172.15bn last year.
During the three years, Dangote Cement paid a total of N412.86bn as taxes, Dangote Sugar Refinery paid N55.38bn, while NASCON Allied Industries paid N5.39bn.
A total of N97.24bn was paid by Dangote Cement in 2020, N173.93bn in 2021 and N141.69bn in 2022. Dangote Sugar Refinery paid N15.85bn in 2020, N11.97bn in 2021 and N27.56bn in 2022. For NASCON Allied Industries, it was N1.22bn in 2020, N1.27bn in 2021 and N2.9bn in 2022.