The management of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) has given insights on why dividends payments to the federal government ebbed last year when compared to 2015.
The Managing Director of the group, Mr. Tony Attah while rolling out figures and performance of the company in Lagos recently said the company dividend paid to the Federal Government from last year’s operations was $356.1million compared to $1.043billion in 2015, $1.390billion in 2014 and $2.769 billion in 2012.
According to him, the various taxes paid by the firm also plunged. The company income tax (CIT) and education tax (ET) in 2016 dipped to $323.27million from $2.170billion in 2015 and $1.402billion in 2014. Also pay as you earn (PAYE) dropped to $31.322million in 2016 as against $42.842million in 2015 and $46.903million in 2014. However, value added tax (VAT) was higher last year at $24.598million compared to $20.156million in the previous year, $23.976million in 2014 and $165.483million in 2012.
He said since the inception of the company, over $90billion has been generated as revenue, while $15 billion has been paid to the Federal Government as dividends. Also $5.5 billion has been paid to the government in taxes and $13billion for feed gas purchase.