State Internal Revenue Service Research Articles

Rule of Law and Tax Compliance Behaviour in Nigeria: Does Tax Morale Matter?

The purpose of this study was to analyse the moderating influence of tax morale on rule of law and tax compliance behaviour of self employed taxpayers in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The study anchored on social exchange theory and survey research design was adopted with a population of 30, 450 self employed taxpayers. Stratified sampling technique was used to establish the number of trade and artisans self employed individuals grouped into fifteen (15) groups on the basis of line of business. The study was based on nine hundred (900) respondents on an average of sixty (60) participants from the fifteen (15) respondents groups out of which eight hundred and forty-two (842) were used as new respondents due to the number of questionnaires returned. Questionnaire were used as the primary source of data collection after reliability test using Cronbach Alpha and the responses obtained from the respondents were analysed using univariate, bivariate and multivariate analysis. The multiple regression analysis suggested that rule of law positively and significantly affects tax compliance behaviour of self employed taxpayers in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, and tax morale does positively and significantly affects the association between rule of law and tax compliance behaviour of self employed taxpayers in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. On the basis of the research findings, the study concluded that there is moderating function of tax morale on rule of law on tax compliance behaviour of self employed taxpayers in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The study recommended amongst others that, the relevant tax authority (Bayelsa State Internal Revenue Service) should play a more vigorous responsibility in socializing tax laws and regulations to increase the awareness of taxpayers about the significance of fulfilling tax obligations, which will later be used for provision of social goods and services for the wellbeing of the citizens. Furthermore, understanding the social psychological (demographic) of a taxpayer as its relate to tax morale would help in addressing the issue of the rule of law and tax compliance behaviour in Nigeria, and this would also assist the government to formulate the better tax policies for effective and efficient revenue generation.

Tax Administration and Timely Payments: A study of selected State Internal Revenue Service in South-West Nigeria

This study examined the effect of tax administration and timely payments: a study of selected Internal Revenue Service in South-West Nigeria. A field survey research method was adopted, primary data obtained through the administration of a structured questionnaire was used and the hypotheses were tested using regression analysis. The population of the study consisted of 4499 members of staff in the tax revenue office in South-West Nigeria. Three hundred and eighty-seven copies of questionnaires were administered while 382 (98.7%) were retrieved. The findings of the study revealed that the tax administration of the selected State Internal Revenue Services has a significant effect on timely payments (Adj.R2 = 0.115, F(3, 383) = 17.405), p < 0.05). The study concluded that a significant relationship exists between Tax administration measured as Tax assessment (TASS), Tax remittance (TREM) and Tax collection (TCOL), and Timely Payments of taxpayers’ declarations of selected State Internal Revenue Services in South-West Nigeria. The study recommended that State tax authorities should restructure their tax administration system to increase their efficiency and effectiveness in tax assessment, tax collection, and tax remittance that will provide adequate and relevant training for members of staff on the use of information technology and update the technological equipment’s used so that the members of staff can be technologically competent. Technological devices should be made available to staff members in the various tax stations outside the head office.

Tax Administration in Nigeria: A Systematic Literature Review

Tax administration is vital for national development, acting as the principal vehicle through which governments generate revenue for economic growth and public service delivery. In Nigeria, tax collection is administered by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), State Internal Revenue Service (SIRS), and Local Government Revenue authorities. These entities gather funds to support crucial infrastructure, healthcare, education, and other critical services. However, Nigeria faces significant challenges in tax administration, including rampant tax evasion, a substantial untaxed informal sector, corruption, and complex tax legislation. These issues hinder the government's capacity to generate sufficient revenue for national development. This systematic review analyzes the existing literature on tax administration in Nigeria from 2018 to 2024, addressing three key questions: (i) What are the primary obstacles in tax administration? (ii) How does tax administration influence government performance and revenue generation? (iii) What measures have been suggested or implemented to improve tax administration efficiency? Through a comprehensive search of databases such as Research gate, PubMed, JSTOR, Google Scholar, and others, this study finds noteworthy discoveries linked to recent tax reforms, such as the implementation of the Tax Identification Number (TIN) system and the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), have had a mixed impact on revenue generation. The use of technology, including e-tax systems, has enhanced tax compliance but faces challenges related to internet connectivity and cyber security. Additionally, the informal sector remains largely untaxed, posing a significant challenge to expanding the tax base. The implications of these findings highlight the need for further reforms in tax administration. Streamlining tax regulations, enhancing technological infrastructure, combating corruption, and improving taxpayer education are essential steps for increasing revenue collection. Addressing these challenges will not only boost revenue generation but also promote sustainable economic growth in Nigeria. Policymakers and stakeholders can leverage these insights to build a more efficient and transparent tax system, thereby contributing to overall economic and social stability.

A CRITICAL EVALUATION OF STAMP DUTY AS A CATALYST FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA: A PRAGMATIC APPROACH

The primary objective of this study is to examine the effective and efficient assessment and collection of stamp duty tax in Nigeria. Stamp duty tax is a tax imposed on both written and electronic instrument such as conveyance on sale, admission, bill of exchange, bill of lading, receipt, apprenticeship, charter party, hire purchase, contract note, promisory note, marketable securities etc. Recently, the Finance Act 2020 expanded the scope of stamp duty to include Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) for every bank deposit up to the tune of N10,000 and above for N50 charge (one off). The mode of assessment of stamp duty is either a fixed flat rate or alvalorem basis on the instrument. The relevant tax authority for the assessment and collection of stamp duty tax in Nigeria are the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and State Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The inherent challenges of stamp duty are the acceptance of fake stamp duty instrument without verification and lack of awareness by taxpayers among others. The recommendation is continuous enlightenment of taxpayers on the existence and inport of stamp duty tax as well as the review and simplification of the stamp duty Act 2004 to reflect current economic realities.

ASSESSMENT OF ACTIVITIES OF TAX PRACTITIONERS, FORENSIC ACCOUNTANTS AND ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRIMES COMMISSION AT CURBING CORRUPTION IN OSUN STATE, NIGERIA

This study sought to assess the activities of Tax Practitioners, Forensic Accountants and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission at curbing corruption in Osun State Nigeria. Survey research design was adopted. The population of this study consists of two hundred (200) members of staff (management, senior and junior) of the Office of the Accountant General, Osun State Ministry of Finance, Osun State Internal Revenue Service and other relevant Agencies in Osun State. Stratified and simple random sampling methods were adopted while Taro Yamane was used to determine the sample size of 133 and out this, one hundred and twenty-five (125) respondents filled and returned the questionnaire. Primary data were gathered via administration of questionnaire to respondents. Both descriptive and Correlation analysis were presented in the study. The findings revealed that there is a positive relationship between the activities of Forensic Accountants and activities of Tax Practitioners at curbing corruption in Osun State. It was also found out that proper financial management will help to reduce financial crime rate in Osun State, Nigeria. The study came to the conclusion that the abilities of accountants and the work of tax practitioners significantly contribute to identifying and minimizing fraud in Osun State, Nigeria. Finally, the study made the suggestion that forensic accounting courses be offered in Nigerian universities in order to improve the caliber of accounting graduates from these institutions, among other things.

Effects of Tax Evasion and Avoidance on Oyo State’s Internally Generated Revenue

Tax evasion and avoidance are both phenomena that are probably as old as taxation itself. Literature revealed that tax avoidance and evasion represent some of the perplexing problems facing the Nigerian economy. The study adopts a quantitative research design, employing a standardized questionnaire as the primary research instrument. The study population comprises personnel from the Oyo State Internal Revenue Service. The findings revealed a significant positive relationship between tax evasion and IGR, indicating that tax evasion negatively impacts revenue generation. Similarly, tax avoidance is found to have a significant negative relationship with IGR, implying its detrimental effect on revenue. The study concluded that resistance towards tax obligations leads to the disturbance of the government's essential services, such as health services, education, sanitation, transportation, and infrastructure. The study recommends that urgent steps should be taken by public office holders to live up to expectation when it comes to transparency, accountability and the war against corruption.

E-Taxation and Tax Compliance in Nigeria: Periscoping Change Perspectives

This study examined the issue of e-taxation and improved tax compliance in Nigeria. The study adopted ex-post facto research design. Analysis conducted in the study made use of secondary quantitative data collated from the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (ESIRS). The study revealed that e-taxation has significant positive effect on tax evasion in Nigeria. The study revealed higher mean value for tax revenue after the adoption of e-taxation when compared with the mean value before the adoption of the e-taxation system, it also revealed that e-taxation has significantly helped in stemming the tide of tax avoidance to a large extent in Nigeria. The analysis of the data indicated higher mean value for tax revenue after the adoption of e-taxation when compared with the mean value before the adoption of the e-taxation system. The study made some vital recommendations which include the need for FIRS to create an electronic tax payment system mobile applicaion which will serve as a means of creating more awareness and simplification of the e-tax system in the country. It was concluded that the e-taxation system commands high tax compliance than the manual system era in Nigeria.

Effects of Job Design Dimensions on Organizational Performance: A Study of Cross River State Internal Revenue Service, Calabar

This study investigated the effects of job design dimensions on organizational performance of public sector organization in Cross River State using Cross River State Board of Internal Revenue Service, Calabar, for the study. The study sought to examine the extent to which skill variety, task identity, task significance, task autonomy as well as feedback significantly affects organizational performance (employees’ motivation, job satisfaction, employees’ commitment, employees’ involvement) of public sector organizations in the state. The study adopted survey research design. The population of the study was four hundred (400). The sample size was 196 respondents from the Cross River State Board of Internal Revenue Service, Calabar, determined by Krejcie and Morgan Table of 1970. The study revealed that skill variety, task identity, task significance, task autonomy as well as job feedback significantly affects organizational performance of public sector organizations in the state. Based on the findings, the study recommended that the government and management of public sector organizations should at all times design jobs based on skill variety, task identity and task significance in order to increase organizational performance continuously. The government as well as management should also be granting task autonomy to workers while performing their routine jobs and responsibilities, for this will in turn enhance employees as well as organizational performance steadily.

The Effect of Information Communication Technology (ICT) on Revenue Generation in Gombe State Internal Revenue Service

This study examined the effect of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on revenue generation in Gombe State Internal Revenue Service to find out if the application of ICT increased the efficiency of revenue collection. The theory adopted for this study was the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The research design used was survey research in which information was gathered from a sample of respondents. The total population of the study was 98 staff of Gombe State Internal Revenue Service who constituted the sample size of the study. The questionnaire was administered using a simple random sampling technique. Data were analysed using average mean score, while the hypotheses were tested using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings of the study revealed that there is a significant difference in mean between the availability of ICT Infrastructure and an increase in Revenue Collection; that there is a moderate positive relationship between ICT availability and revenue generation in Gombe State Internal Revenue Service; and that there is a correlation Coefficient for the relationship between the introduction of ICT and the ease of doing business in Gombe State Internal Revenue Service. The study recommended, among others, that Gombe State Board of Internal Revenue should ensure an improved ICT infrastructure which includes completion of the fibre-optic network project, provision of adequate computer systems and reliable UPS to all offices for staff.

Electronic-Tax System and Revenue Generation Efficiency in Bayelsa State Internal Revenue Board

The purpose of this study was to empirically evaluate the performance of the Bayelsa State Internal Revenue Board's electronic-tax system in terms of its impact on the organisation's ability to generate tax revenue. Descriptive survey methodology was used, with questionnaires serving as the primary data collector. One hundred twenty (120) respondents from the Bayelsa State Internal Revenue Service, Audit Firms, and other prominent registered organisations filled out the questionnaire. Using descriptive statistics to examine data collected during the field survey, we were able to determine that the Bayelsa State Internal Revenue Board's e-tax system has a number of issues and inadequacies, which may have constrained the effectiveness of the agency's revenue collection efforts. Given the study's findings, it was suggested, among other things, that the government should do all in its power to develop e-tax so that it may immediately begin reaping the benefits of taxpayers' high compliance rate. In order to enable government evaluation and correct the limitations and issues encountered, there should be enough monitoring and control over the tax collection system. Additionally, essential tax information should be provided. This is especially important with regard to online payment.

Perceived Security of E-Payment System and Reduction in Incidence of Fraud in Kwara State Internal Revenue Service, Nigeria

<p class="Default">Globally, governments have been embracing e-payment system to fast-track revenue collection, and to equally minimize incidence of fraud. However, a major threat to the smooth operation of e-payment in Nigeria is security related issues. Therefore, this study examined perceived security and incidence of fraud, with particular reference to Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS), Nigeria. The study obtained a sample of 285 from a population of 996. The findings demonstrated that perceived security dimensions strongly contributed to reduction in incidence of fraud. The study concludes that improvements in e-payment system security, particularly with regard to trust issues, have a significant impact on the amount of fraud reduction in KWIRS. It is recommended that the government ensure the expansion of the country's e-payment system, which necessitates adequate collaboration with the private sector in expanding the existing internet facilities, in order to improve the convenience of use and safety for users<em>. </em>

TAX ADMINISTRATION AND VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE: A STUDY OF SELECTED STATE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE IN SOUTH-WEST NIGERIA

This study examined the effect of tax administration and voluntary compliance of selected State Internal Revenue Service in Nigeria. The field survey research method was adopted for the study. Primary data obtained through the administration of structured questionnaire were used to test the hypotheses using regression analysis. The population of the study consisted of 4499 members of staff in tax revenue offices in South-west Nigeria. Three hundred and eighty-seven copies of questionnaires were administered while 382 (98.7%) were retrieved. The findings of the study revealed that tax administration of the selected Sate Internal Revenue Services has a significant effect on voluntary compliance (Adj.R2 = 0.160, F(3, 383) = 25.113, p &lt; 0.05). The study concludes that Tax administration measured as Tax assessment (TASS), Tax remittance (TREM) and Tax collection (TCOL) had a significant effect on the Voluntary Compliance of taxpayers of selected State Internal Revenue Services in South-west Nigeria. The study recommends that State tax authorities should restructure their tax administration system in order to increase their efficiency and effectiveness in tax assessment, tax collection and tax remittance. This will make taxpayers voluntarily pay their taxes without using means of enforcements. Also, the State tax authorities should embark on training its staff on tax collections and not completely rely on the external agents in tax collections.

Tax proceeds and fiscal advancement: Pragmatic configuration in Cross River State, Nigeria

This study examined tax proceeds and fiscal advancement: pragmatic configuration in Cross River State, Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study were to determine the relationship between personal proceeds tax and fiscal advancement of Cross River State and the extent to which tourism development tax affects the fiscal advancement of Cross River State. The study adopted the ex-post facto research design and scope comprised of the entire data related to personal proceeds tax and tourism development tax from the Cross River State Internal Revenue Service from 1990-2020. This study adopted the classical ordinary least squares regression techniques as the technique of estimation. Findings from the study revealed that, tax proceeds exerted a negative and insignificant effect on fiscal advancement in Cross River State. The study therefore recommended that, regarding road tax, there should be institutional reforms in order to plug leakages and enhance collection mechanism used by tax officials so as to free the collection of these taxes from corrupt tax payers and minimized embezzlement by insincere tax collectors. Government should make it impossible for companies to evade taxes by penalizing any registered company that evades tax.

Impact of Environmental Taxation on Environmental Sustainability in Nigeria

Many nations have imposed environmental taxes to boost green development since green development has become a worldwide movement. Using a descriptive survey research approach, this study examines the influence of environmental taxes on environmental sustainability in Anambra State. The researcher devised two study questions and collected data using a self-created questionnaire. The personnel of the Anambra State Internal Revenue Service, chosen using a purposeful random sample procedure, makes up the sample size. Fifty copies of the questionnaire were administered for data collection. The data collected was analysed using the mean, standard deviation, and t-test statistics. The study found that environmental taxes encourage energy conservation and the adoption of renewable energy sources; Also, environmental taxation might create cash for governments, allowing for the reduction of other taxes or the implementation of environmental initiatives. Generally, the tax must be legal, and the rate must be predictable in order to encourage environmentally-friendly activities. It was advocated that understanding the effectiveness of environmental taxes and levies in instilling beneficial environmental behaviour is also important for ensuring that environmental pricing policies are designed in accordance with environmental aims. This research offers a practical and promising perspective on the function of environmental taxes in green growth, and it has the potential to be used in other regions and nations.

Impact of informal sector tax revenue on capital growth in Ebonyi State Capital, Abakaliki

The study examined the effect of informal sector tax revenue on capital growth in Ebonyi State Capital, Abakaliki. The study adopted Ex-post facto research design in obtaining secondary data, covering 21 years (2000–2020) from the State Internal Revenue Service and the Ministry of Budget and Planning, Abakaliki. The data collected were tested using Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression. The findings revealed that tax collected from Traders’ unions, Petty traders, and Market men and women had a significant effect on capital growth in Abakaliki, the State Capital. This is evident from the monumental capital projects being executed by the government in Abakaliki, the capital city. The study recommended that the government should not only create an enabling environment for the informal sector to thrive but should also give all necessary assistance/support for its survival because the sector has contributed to the capital development of the state capital through the tax revenue generated.

An Assessment of Knowledge Sharing on Employee Performance: A Study of Kwara State Internal Revenue Service

A knowledge gap exists in organizations because existing knowledge is not being effectively disseminated throughout organizations which affects productivity level and opportunity exploration. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the effect of knowledge sharing on employee performance. The specific objectives were to: evaluate the influence of knowledge sharing strategies on employee productivity; determine if the organizational structure has an effect on employee efficiency, and determine the influence of effective communication on employee effectiveness. The study adopted a survey research design. The population of the study consisted of 720 staff of Kwara state internal revenue service (KWIRS) from which a sample of 257 respondents was selected using simple random sampling. Two hundred and fifty-seven (257) copies of Questionnaires were designed and distributed to respondents, however, only 242 copies of questionnaires were correctly filled and returned, which constitutes a 96.16% rate of response. Multiple Regression analysis was used to analyze the data at a 0.05 level of significance. Findings of the study revealed that knowledge sharing strategies have a high positive correlation with the productivity of employees with R2=0.957, and a p-value of 0.000&lt;0.005 for training and use of library respectively; organizational structure significantly impacts employee effectiveness with R2= 0.947 and p-value of 0.000&lt;0.005 for centralization and decentralization respectively; and effective communication has a positive impact with employee effectiveness with R2= 0.809 and p-value of 0.000&lt;0.005 for personal communication and electronic communication respectively. The study concluded that knowledge sharing strategies have a significant relationship with employee productivity, the organizational structure has a significant relationship with employee efficiency and effective communication has an influence on employee effectiveness. The study recommended that knowledge sharing strategies such as training and the use of a library should be implemented to increase employee performance, a standard and flexible organizational structure should be designed to enable employees to be highly efficient and effective communication should be encouraged among employees through both personal and electronic communication.

Effects of the Covid- 19 Pandemic and its Attendant Lockdown Policy on the Economy of Plateau State

The Continuous Decline In Revenue Base Of The Nation Has Remain A Matter Of Serious Concern Among Researchers And Government, Due To Challenges Arisen From The Covid – 19 Pandemic. In The Light Of This, The Study Was Set Out To Empirically Examine The Effects Of Covid – 19 Lockdown On The Internally Generated Revenue Of Plateau State. To Achieve This Objective, Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Combined With An Exploratory Research Design Approach Were Employed And Adopted By The Researchers, And A Sample Of 76 Respondents Was Taken From The Population Of Staff Of The Plateau State Internal Revenue Service With Specific Focus On Those That Are Directly Responsible For The Collection Of Taxes. To Analyse The Data, Both Independent T – Test And Logit Binary Regression Model Were Used To Test The Hypotheses Of This Study. Arisen From The Analysis, The Study Revealed That: There Is Significant Difference Between Revenue Generated Before And During Covid-19 Lockdown In Plateau State; And Covid - 19 Lockdown Has Significant Adverse Effect On Internally Generated Revenue (Igr). Based On The Findings, The Following Recommendations Were Made: Government Of Plateau State Should Ensure That Business Activities Are Continuing Through Digitalised System And That The Government Should Link Tax Identification Numbers (Tin) To Online Business Activities So As To Guarantee Continued Internally Revenue Generation For The State; Government Should Train Their Staff On The Use Of Ict, Especially In The Area Of Revenue Collection; And Staff Of Ministries, Departments And Agencies (Mdas) Should Ensure That Sharp And Dubious Practices Are Properly Checked To Allow For The Free Flow Of Ict System In Revenue Collection.

Curbing Tax Evasion through Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) in Niger State, Nigeria

This study assessed the effectiveness of the introduction of Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) in curbing tax evasion in Niger State, Nigeria from the point of view of ten tax officers of the Niger State Internal Revenue Service. Adopting a qualitative research design, ten tax officers were interviewed to understand their collective perceptions of the level of tax evasion in Niger State before and after the introduction of TIN. Thematic analyses of the interviews revealed that all ten tax officials agreed that tax evasion was at a very high level before the introduction of TIN, but reduced dramatically after the introduction of TIN proving its efficacy. The study recommended that tax evasion in the State could be further reduced if businesses operating in the informal sector could be registered and included in the database of taxable entities.

Influence of technology adoption on tax audit in Osun state, Nigeria

This study examined the influence of technology adoption on tax audit in Osun State. This workused the Survey research design, and the source of data was primary which was generated by the administrationof well-structured questionnaire which was ranked with five-point Likert scale, 100 copies ofquestionnaire were randomly distributed amongst staffer of Federal Inland revenue service, Osun state,Osun State internal revenue service and some business owners out of which 75 were filled and returned.Ordinary least square method of regression analysis was used to analyse the data collected. Findingsfrom this analysis showed that the coefficient of determination indicated that technology explains 50%of the total variation in tax compliance while it explains 69% of the total variation in revenue increase.It was established that there was positive relationship between adoption of technology and tax complianceand revenue increase in Osun state. Pearson Correlation matrix shows the direction, significantand strength of the bivariate associations amongst the variables in the study. The study recommendedthat the Government should invest heavily on technology for the purpose revenue increase, Governmentshould review tax law to reduce tax evasion to barest minimum, and that the tax authority shouldendeavor to be completing every tax audit at record time. Key words: technology, tax audit, tax administration, tax evasion, tax avoidance.

Information Culture, Work Environment and Employee Job Performance in Lagos State Internal Revenue Service, Nigeria

This study examined the influence of information culture and work environment on employee job performance in Lagos state internal revenue service. A validated survey instrument was tested on 210 employees in Lagos State Internal Revenue Service and showed that information culture positively influenced employee job performance. (R = 0.676; R2 = 0.458; Adj R2 = 0.455; F (1, 190) = 160.43; Sig. = 0.000). Work environment positively influenced employee performance. (R = 0.488; R2 = 0.238; Adj R2 = 0.234; F (1, 190) = 59.53; Sig. = 0.000). The results further reveled that information culture and work environment both have positive influence on employee performance. (R = 0. 691; R2 = 0.477; Adjusted-R2 = 0.472; F (2, 189) = 86.40; Sig. = 0.000)The study concluded that information culture and work environment plays an important role in enhancing employee job performance in Lagos State Internal Revenue Service. The study recommended that Information culture and good working environment should be maintained in the organization.&#x0D; Keywords: Employee Job Performance, Information Culture, Work Environment, Internal Revenue Service