Tax
Income Tax Act 2000 with a 25% standard company rate and GST at 15%
The Income Tax Act 2000 governs income taxation, with the standard corporate rate at 25% and higher rates for mining. The Goods and Services Tax Act 2009 introduced GST at 15%, replacing a cascade of sales taxes, and the National Revenue Authority administers both.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National Revenue Authority; objections to the Commissioner-General, then appeal to the Board of Appellate Commissioners and the High Court.
- Deadline — Annual income tax returns are due by 30 April following the year of assessment
- Deadline — GST returns are filed monthly, generally by the last working day of the following month
Governing law
- Income Tax Act 2000 as amended
- Goods and Services Tax Act 2009
- National Revenue Authority Act 2002
- Finance Actsannual
In practice
The Income Tax Act 2000 is the consolidating statute, amended each year by a Finance Act, so the operative rates and thresholds for any given year must be read from the current Finance Act rather than the principal Act alone — a point that catches practitioners relying on the base text. The standard company rate is 25%, with mining and petroleum taxed under separate higher-rate regimes and subject to the Mines and Minerals Act fiscal terms. GST at 15% replaced the former sales tax and applies to a broad base with exemptions for basic foodstuffs, education, medical services and financial services. Withholding taxes apply to contract payments, rent, dividends, interest and non-resident services, and the treaty network is very small, so relief from double taxation is usually unilateral rather than treaty-based. Extractive sector agreements have historically included negotiated fiscal terms, which the Extractive Industries Revenue Act sought to standardise.