TAXATION AS AN INSTRUMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

        Economic development is the first priority of every developing nation, Nigeria being a developing nation is no exception.  The concept of economic development is closely related to economic growth, these two concept are more often than not used interchangeably.  Even among the economist, consensus had not yet been reached as to the difference between the two concepts.  While one school of thought see the two as the same, the other school of thought differentiate economic development from increase in Gross National Product.  The two concept however, shall be used interchangeably for the purpose of this study.

        McGraw Hill Dictionary of Economic defines economic growth as “an increase in nations or areas capacity to produce goods ad services coupled with an increase in production of these goods and services.

        To provide goods and services, however the government needs to purchase goods and services from the private sector and to employ labour. Given the comparatively limited amounts of resources that it is ordinarily possible and product to obtain from abroad and from domestic borrowing and non-tax revenue, most of the developing countries have felt the need to increase tax revenues.

        Tax as defined by the international dictionary of English is “money paid to the government usually a percentage of personal income or of the cost of goods and services bought”.  Tax is a compulsory levy or payment imposed by the government of a nation on her citizens through an organized or specialized unit or agency.  The process of collecting tax is called taxation since tax is an obligation, it is not a matter of choice but of necessity for the citizens to pay tax.

        The history of taxation can be traced back as far as the ancient empires of world history.  In Nigeria, taxation is not a new thing.  In the pre-colonial days, taxation was practiced in the various sections of the country, this was more evident in the Northern region as a result of it’s organized system of government.  Although, taxation has been a characteristics of all government, the native and form in which it existed differ from one area to the other.  In spite of these different methods of taxation, the system had persisted.  The question that might arise here is why has taxation become a permanent feature of all government.

        The reason for the persistence of taxation is not far fetched, the most important is in the provision of societal needs.  The revenues collected from tax are used in the provision of basis amenities and infrastructure such as electricity, pipe born water, hospitals and other similar services.

        In addition, tax is used as a fiscal policy tool of economic policy to redistribute income, boost some particular industry, fight inflation and depression and other economic predicament.

        It has become important to research into this aspect of the economy, since it is the only source of government revenue that has remained fairly stable over the years.  In the early independence days, Agriculture was the main stay of the economy, this dwindle in the 1970s with the discovery of oil, leaving us importers of food items, like rice, beans, and others.

        During the oil glut of 1980s, the prices of petroleum fluctuated regularly this affecting revenue derived from oil.

        There is no system that is perfect in its entirety, hence the tax system has its short comings.

Taxes are decorative.  Thus a key issue in the design of the tax system is, how to reduce the amount of distortions imposed by the system.  Problems of taxation in developing countries have been receiving special and increasing attention in recent years, in the context of the world’s concern for accelerating the pace of their economic growth under condition of stability.

Much of the theoretical and applied work has been related to the tasks of constructing productive and equitable tax system suited to the peculiar economic and social conditions prevailing in various less developed countries.

        Another weakness evidenced in the system is poor enforcement and accountability of tax revenue collected, revenue leakages usually caused by incompetence of tax officers.  To check this, the services of experts and tax consultants should be employed by tax administrations for effective tax administration.

1.2     STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Taxation all over the world is regarded as one of the major source of revenue available for government; unfortunately, this seems not to be the case in Nigeria due to problems militating against law yield of taxation like tax evasion and avoidance, inadequate administration, incompetence of tax officers etc.  The year is that if care is not taken, in future, the amount of taxation contributed to the expenditure of government will be so insignificant to even warrant its consideration as a source of revenue.

        Thus here lies our problems

        Since this research work covered the vital role played by taxation in the economy, its problems and prospect; efforts will be made to provide answers to the following reerarch questions.

1.   Does taxation serve as an important instrument of economy development in Nigeria.

2.   Should the services of experts and tax consultants be employed for effective tax administration in Nigeria

        In developing the above stated problem, the following hypothesis both in null from and alternative form were drawn.

1.     Ho:   Taxation is not an important instrument for economic development in Nigeria.

2.     Ho:   The services of experts and tax consultants are needed for effective tax administration in Nigerian.