Impact Of Tax Administration On Government Revenue In A Developing Economy

Impact Of Tax Administration On Government Revenue In A Developing Economy
Abstract
Nigeria is richly blessed with oil and gas among other mineral resources, but the over dependence on oil revenue for the economic development of the country has left much to be deserved. According to Ariyo (1997) Nigeria’s over dependence on oil revenue to the total neglect of other revenue source was encouraged by the oil boom of 1973/74. This is unsustainable due to the fluctuation in the oil market which have in most cases plunged the nation into deficit budgets. It was the view of Popoola (2009) that Nigerian tax administration and practice be structured towards economic goal achievement since government budget for the year centres on the oil sector. While decrying the low productivity of the Nigerian tax system, “deficiencies in the tax administration and collection system, complex legislations and apathy on the part of those outside the tax net” were identified as some of the root causes says Ijewere 1991 and Ndekwu 1991 as cited in (Ariyo 1997). Those working in the informal sector of Nigerian economy do not see the need to pay tax whereas they dominate the economy. To them only, civil servants should pay tax on their earnings and this amount to over flogging the willing horse.
Besides, the activities of the strong union in the formal sector do not even pave way for a successful tax policy implementation in the formal sector (Ayodele 2006). Even revenue collection officers seem to be lenient or even connive with those in the informal sector during enforcement of tax policies. All this leads to revenue loss. In other to reawaken the consciousness of Nigerian government and citizens on the effective use of taxation as a developmental tool, and examine the effect the tax system have so far on the economy; this research work becomes very relevant. There is no doubt that taxation must have affected the economic development of Nigeria. Effort shall therefore be made in this research to see how much Nigeria have been able to achieve her economic goals with her tax policies and administration. The administrative role of the Federal, state and local government shall as well be examined in other to identify the causes of tax evasion and avoidance.
Chapter One
Introduction
1.1 Background to the Study
It is obvious that the Nigeria’s revenue from oil can no longer fully support her development objectives due to the serious decline in price of oil in recent years which has led to a decrease in the funds available to the Government. Therefore there is the need for government to generate revenues internally to help finance her public expenditures. This need underscores the eagerness on the part of government to look for new sources of revenue or to become aggressive and innovative in the mode of collecting revenue from existing sources. One of these existing sources is taxation. To help the government to achieve better revenue collection, there is a need for her to introduce a better and convenient way to collect tax for her citizens which is through electronic taxation.
Taxation is considered to be a means of generating revenue by government for the purpose of providing essential amenities for her citizens (Okauru, 2014). Taxation globally, is a function of reciprocity (Okauru, 2014). While the government is responsible for the empowerment of the citizens through the provision of jobs, infrastructure and other development projects, and in return, citizens are usually expected to perform their own obligations, in which the principal of it is payment of taxes (Okauru, 2014). Revenue generated from citizens’ taxes are usually recycled by the government in the area of provision of basic amenities such as pipe borne water, road network, electricity, schools, and the likes (Okauru, 2014).
The reality on ground in Nigeria is that governments at all levels have to put more efforts by embarking on an aggressive tax drive, when we consider the dwindling revenue profile resulting from the fall in oil prices. Therefore, Nigerians have to come to terms with the present reality. Taxes can be in various forms, ranging from personal direct tax, indirect tax, income tax, tax and companies income tax, to mention but a few. In order to bridge the gap in terms of revenue accruals, there is the need for government to embark on aggressive taxation which is the most recognized and plausible means of generating revenue for social services across the globe. The Vanguard of December 15th, 2015 indicates that revenue accruable from Tax from March to June 2015 came to about N376 billion, but this figure doubled between July and December.
The reason for this can be traced to the Federal Government’s effort towards diversification of revenue sources in the country. With compulsory tax laws and enforcement, there is no doubt that Nigeria can stand the test of the uncertainties in the international oil market. This implies that there will be availability of more revenue for the government to cater for the needs of the Nigerian citizens. This is the most suitable time for Nigerians to welcome the tax system with open arms. Through this, Nigerians can be involved in the contributory social contract by paying their taxes regularly knowing that the government on its part would observe its obligation by not looting or misappropriating taxpayers’ money.
It is no longer news that Nigeria has finally lost its position as the main supplier of oil to the United States of America and therefore, needs to embrace revenue diversification which can be achieved through taxation as the alternative means of revenue generation in order to withstand the dwindling revenue from oil. However, there is the need to harmonize the tax system and ensure collaboration between government tax agencies and professional tax institutes and consultants. The reliability of the institutional framework for tax processing and enforcement must not be questionable to ensure sustainable development through taxation.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
According to Lolade (2005) the main function of taxation is to generate money for government expenditure. According to the Nigeria National Tax Policy (2012) taxes helps the government in generating sufficient resources for government to provide basic public goods and services. Nigeria has yet to rip the full benefit of taxation as experienced in developed countries of the world. In fact, Ayua (1996) observed that the problem with Nigeria tax administration is grossly inefficient with respect to its procedures, machinery and approaches adopted in collection of taxes, alongside the corrupt practices of tax officials in implementing tax system. Moreover, Ayua (1996) also opined that the Nigeria tax system is grossly inadequate as it is characterized with tax evasion, avoidance and record falsifications which account for the consistent low tax yields.
Careful obserE- taxion points to the oil boom which has been an enduring blessing to Nigeria which regrettably brought about a great shift of attention to oil money, which results to a total neglect of other sectors including agriculture in Nigeria. The adverse effect of this boom and euphoria led to the neglect of other sectors from which revenue can be generated by the government to provide basic amenities for her citizens. One of the best ways the government can use to generate revenue during this period of dwindling of oil revenue is through tax.
Unfortunately, this has been neglected by the government. Unless aggressive tax system is being introduced by the government to ensure the citizens pay their taxes as at when due, Nigeria will remain in this economic shackles for long.
Over the years, revenue derived from taxes has been very low and no physical development actually took place, thus the impact on the poor is not being felt. Inadequate tax personnel, fraudulent activities of tax collectors and lack of understanding of the importance to pay tax by tax payers are some of the problems that we are currently facing in ensuring effective tax revenue in the country. Therefore, this study will throw more light on the effect of taxation on government revenue in Nigeria by focusing on the pre-post analysis of taxation in Nigeria.
1.3 Research Question
This study will be carried out to answer the following questions:
- What are the effects of tax on government revenue in Nigeria?
- Measures taken to attain proper use of tax revenue
1.4 Objectives of the Study
The study has both general objective and specific objectives. The general objective or main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of taxation on government revenue in Nigeria by focusing on the pre-post analysis of taxation in Nigeria.
The specific objectives are:
- To examine the effects of taxation on government revenue in Nigeria
- To identify the measures taken by the government to ensure effective and prompt tax payment by tax payer in Nigeria
- To investigate the challenges facing taxation systems in Nigeria
1.5 Research Hypothesis
The followings are the research hypotheses to be tested in this study:
H1: Efficiency and effectiveness of tax administration has no significant effect on revenue generation
H2: There is no significant relationship between tax payers’ enlightenment on payment of tax and revenue generation
1.6 Significance of Study
The results from this study will educate the stakeholders vested with the management of Nigeria’s economy and the general public on how huge revenue capable of replacing oil revenue can be generated through taxation and its effect on national development. Findings from this study will also educate the government of Nigeria and the general public on the effectiveness of the institutional framework saddled with the responsibility of collection and enforcement of tax duties. This research will be a contribution to the body of literature in the area economy, accounting and public administration thereby constituting the empirical literature for future research in the subject area.
1.7 Scope and Limitation of the Study
This study will cover the process of taxation in Nigeria. It will as well cover the activities of the tax collection and enforcement officers.
1.8 Limitations of the Study
The Major Limitations of the study will be:
Cost Limitation:
There will be a cost limitation. This means that the researcher will not offer any gift or monetary incentives for the respondents to answer the questionnaire. This might result in certain prospective respondents choosing not to respond to the researcher.
Time Limitation:
There are two types of time limitation that will be faced during the study. The study will be done for a period of four weeks. Hence the results would reflect the impact of the time constraint. The insights of the respondents will be observed during the period of the study. A more extensive study conducted over a larger time period or during a special period of time like when there will be higher numbers of issues, can include insights from respondents over a broader time period and can bring in further depth into the research.
Chapter Five
Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation
5.1 Summary
The study was geared towards finding out the effect of taxation on government revenue in Nigeria. The study involved analyzing data from secondary sources. Most of the data was obtained from FIRS data base and ministry of finance. The study looked at the domestic department sectors. The objective of this study was to establish the effects of tax reforms on revenue in Nigeria. A Descriptive study was adopted to measure the extent of the relationship between the variables. The data collected was analyzed using regression model at 95% level of significance, while the performance of tax was measured using Efficiency Ratio. The results of the study show that tax revenue over the past five years has been growing and Nigeria is keeping with the worldwide tax productivity average of 34 percent. A model was developed for Tax revenue and all its variables tested.
The dependent variable is Tax revenue, and the independent variables are online filling of returns, integrated systems and Tax refunds
A 56.9% of the variation in Tax revenue is explained by the tax reforms. The actual revenues were found to be around the line of best fit. The model was found to be useful and at least one of the predictors is useful for predicting Tax revenue. Online filling of transactions was found to be significantly related to Tax revenue collected. Previous studies by(Asirigwa ,2011) on determinants of revenue show similar findings
5.2 Conclusion
This study concludes that online filling of returns, integrated systems and Tax refunds have a directly or indirectly influence Tax revenue. This was observed from the increase in tax collections over the study period. The study also concludes that Nigeria’s tax productivity is normal, comparing it with worldwide results. The results of this study are consistent with similar studies in other countries. For instance, old taxes and a high range between highest and lowest nonzero. Tax rates have a positive bearing on Tax revenue, all else being equal; and that the tax rate cannot be pushed too high without markedly reducing Tax revenue (Diana,2011)
The study identifies online filling and integrated management system as the variables that increase revenue at an increasing rate. With a 56.9% level of confidence it shows that reforms if well implement would lead to increase in revenue.
From the results of the study its very clear that the reforms have boosted the countries revenue. Information on the reforms should be highly available to all citizens as this knowledge allows compliance to policies and timely filling of returns
There should be implemented checks and controls that will enhance transparency when these reforms are conducted thus motivating the tax payers to be confident when submitting there returns and thus lessen non-compliance that leads to revenue leakages as the number of people registering there returns may be high but those making the actual payments be very few since tax relies heavily on proper recording, the willingness of traders to avail their accounts to the scrutiny of the tax authorities.
5.3 Recommendation
More information on reforms is needed as most citizens are not aware of any reform and this could be through posting all updated information on reforms on the FIRS website
Tax rates should not be adjusted without considering the effect it will have on the consumer as any reform made to adjust the rates affects revenue negatively
Nigeria Revenue Authority should give public information on how they derive the revenue on the tax payers days thus creating sensitization.
Nigeria Revenue Authority should ensure all revenues on reforms are availed on there websites to enhance easy retrieval.
Checks and controls should be implemented to allow transparency in implementation of the reforms.
Independent checks should be done from time to time to find out if there is proper compliance to policies by independent parties or external auditors.
Punishments should be imposed on those found to be going against the laid down guidelines.
Trainings should be carried out frequently for members of staff working in this are so that they can be able to take into account any technological changes.
Integrated management systems should be highly maintained by experts to avoid break downs that would delay operations. Also independent parties should be contracted so as to avoid conflict of interest by manipulating of systems to benefit a few individuals.


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