EFFECTIVENESS OF TAXATION IN NIGERIA IN COMPARISON WITH OTHER NATIONS OF THE WORLD
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
Taxation to every country is bedrock for revenue generation which when adequately carried out could lead to a speedy socio economic development just like in the advanced nations of the world. Ariwodola (2001) described tax as a compulsory levy imposed by the government authority through its agents on its subjects or his property to achieve some goals. Arnold and Mclntyre, (2002) define tax as a compulsory levy on income, consumption and production of goods and services as provided by the relevant legislation. Tax is a charge imposed by government authority upon property, individuals, or transactions to raise money for public purposes. This definition is however imperfect. The study of the teachings of Christianity, Islamic and other prominent religions in the world
shows that tax is a religious duty based on social and civil responsibilities (Agbetunde 2004). They all support and encourage tax imposition either to redistribute wealth or to finance government project. The Nigerian tax administration is in line with the British model of tax administration since 1960 and has been operating this up to 1990 when the self-assessment scheme came into play which seems similar to the American model of tax administration system (Adesola 2004). The British model of tax administration assumes tax payers are incompetent as to tax process and tax authorities do not rely on information supplied by tax payers. Returns of the tax payer are carefully verified through the application of the American model in reference to the rigid British model. The American model despite the advantages that can be derived from its application has not found a good place in Nigeria because all the phenomenon that made it a success in America such as voluntary compliance system, competence of tax payer, efficient data processing system which aids detection of fraud are still not present the Nigeria context. Consequently disadvantage has adversely impacted on local government tax system since they are part of the ruling process in the state. Such impact has generally been based on problems associated with collection, assessment and returns procedures in the local government area. There is doubt on how efficient the tax authority and other bodies participating in the collection of tax and make returns to the local and state government. In an economy like Nigeria where great reliance is placed on one source of revenue by the state government, the understanding and appreciation of the significance of tax as a source of revenue is of paramount importance. This is not only to enable one the opportunity to examine potential revenue generated in the state but to enable the decision makers and government to appreciate the need for administration changes within the context of tax system. In this study, effort was made to assess Lagos State tax administration system and how it could serve as a veritable tool for revenue generation of the state. The result of the study shows that tax administration affects the revenue generated by the government and that there is a significant relationship
between tax administration, tax policies and tax laws.
