An Assessment of Methods of Tax Fraud among the Taxpayers in South West Nigeria

Abstract

Raising revenue through taxes is one of the most difficult issues confronting governments in developing countries, particularly in south-west Nigeria. This has been exacerbated by the continued failure to investigate the various methods used by taxpayers to commit tax fraud. Hence, this study assessed the methods of tax fraud among the taxpayers in south west Nigeria. The population of the study comprised 504,263 taxpayers registered with the Federal Inland Revenue Service in South West Nigeria. The sample size was 400. The data collected was descriptively analysed. The study concluded that the level at which the taxpayers employed undue income reduction to engage in tax fraud, expense reclassification to raise costs, and keeping financial records for different purposes, in south-west Nigeria were on the high side. The study recommended that the government take very seriously the factors that encourage taxpayers to engage in tax fraud, which reduces their income illegally, and that taxpayers who reclassify expenses to reduce the amount of tax owed to the government should be punished accordingly.