AN ASSESSMENT OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF TAX REVENUE TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Given that an effective Tax administration is sometimes touted as having strong macroeconomic growth effects, this study examines the contribution of Tax revenue to the economic growth and development of Nigeria. Tax revenue here is proxied on the income generation from tax sources by the national government. This is because tax revenue is an important instrument for economic growth and development in any developing economy, since the internal revenue generated through taxes go a long way in providing funds for the provision of public goods. The study exploits a pre-dominantly review approach and data were sourced from the tax revenue collection profile of the Kaduna state board on internal revenue, while personal interviews and participant observations were added as supplement. The trend analysis technique aimed at registering the increase or otherwise of tax related revenue figures was employed as a tool of analysis. The findings reveal that taxes contribute significantly to government revenue profile, thus capable of creating the bedrock for sustainable economic growth and development in Nigeria. It is recommended that the Nigerian tax laws should be codified in simple, non-technical languages, and there should be a harmonization of all the different taxes according to the approved list of taxes collectible by each tier of government to minimize multiple tax practices, while the government should be more responsive to the welfare needs of the citizens in other to induce voluntary compliance. The Nigerian tax system can effectively generate more revenue if only the citizens have the trust and confidence in the authority