Impact of tax administration on government revenue in a developing economy

Nigeria is richly blessed with oil and gas among other mineral resources, but the over dependence on oil revenue for the economic development of the country has left much to be deserved. According to Ariyo (1997) Nigeria’s over dependence on oil revenue to the total neglect of other revenue source was encouraged by the oil boom of 1973/74. This is unsustainable due to the fluctuation in the oil market which have in most cases plunged the nation into deficit budgets. It was the view of Popoola (2009) that Nigerian tax administration and practice be structured towards economic goal achievement since government budget for the year centres on the oil sector. While decrying the low productivity of the Nigerian tax system, “deficiencies in the tax administration and collection system, complex legislations and apathy on the part of those outside the tax net” were identified as some of the root causes says Ijewere 1991 and Ndekwu 1991 as cited in (Ariyo 1997). Those working in the informal sector of Nigerian economy do not see the need to pay tax whereas they dominate the economy. To them only, civil servants should pay tax on their earnings and this amount to over flogging the willing horse. Besides, the activities of the strong union in the formal sector do not even pave way for a successful tax policy implementation in the formal sector (Ayodele 2006). Even revenue collection officers seem to be lenient or even connive with those in the informal sector during enforcement of tax policies. All this leads to revenue loss. In other to reawaken the consciousness of Nigerian government and citizens on the effective use of taxation as a developmental tool, and examine the effect the tax system have so far on the economy; this research work becomes very relevant. There is no doubt that taxation must have affected the economic development of Nigeria. Effort shall therefore be made in this research to see how much Nigeria have been able to achieve her economic goals with her tax policies and administration. The administrative role of the Federal, state and local government shall as well be examined in other to identify the causes of tax evasion and avoidance.