Road Tax Revenue Soars by 63% in 2023, Says NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that road tax collections by state governments surged by 63% in 2023, highlighting the growing importance of transportation-related revenues in the country’s economic landscape.

According to the NBS’s recently published Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) report, total road tax revenue for the year reached ₦40.14 billion, a significant increase from ₦24.57 billion in 2022.

The NBS defines road tax as daily levies paid by commercial transporters operating within each state.

While the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) reported no road tax revenue for the year, Lagos State emerged as the highest contributor, accounting for 41.7% of the national total, with a collection of ₦16.74 billion.

Other states also saw significant growth, particularly Ebonyi, which reported an extraordinary 3,804.32% increase in road tax revenue.

The state’s earnings jumped from ₦72.95 million in 2022 to ₦2.85 billion in 2023, marking one of the most dramatic rises in the country. Rivers State also saw a substantial increase, with its road tax revenue climbing by 270.66%, from ₦223.93 million to ₦830.01 million.

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Sokoto State reported a more modest increase of 41.22%, bringing in ₦194.66 million in road tax revenue, while Yobe State’s revenue grew by 30.4%, reaching ₦81.88 million.

However, not all states experienced growth. Enugu State, for example, saw a sharp decline of 95.12%, with road tax collections plummeting from ₦1.1 billion in 2022 to just ₦53.47 million in 2023.

Similarly, Katsina State experienced a 79.34% drop, from ₦141.81 million to ₦29.3 million, while Niger State’s revenue fell by 53.41%, from ₦408.83 million to ₦190.49 million.