Assessment of Nigeria Tax System and Its Effect on the Public Sector

Chapter One of Assessment of Nigeria Tax System and Its Effect on the Public Sector
INTRODUCTION
Background To The Study 

Tax constitutes a system of raising money from corporate institutions and persons unbehalf of the government for developmental programmes. Tax is a compulsory contribution imposed by government on eligible tax payers in the country to aid in the financing of government expenditures in the provision of essential services such as education, health services, road constructions, security, social payments etc.
Taxes are imposed for reason of regulating the production of certain goods and services, protection of infant or certain key industries, curbing inflation and meeting operational costs of governance. Taxes are also imposed to mitigate the consumption of certain undesirable goods and services, correct the country’s balance of payment and attract investors. Regulate certain economic activities; bridge the inequality gap between the rich and the poor.
Consequently in order to achieve these tax objectives, the government implement different types of tax system such as “Pay As You Earn, (PAYE), Value added tax (VAT), Excise duties etc .The research seek to proffer an assessment of Nigeria tax system and it effect on educations system of public sector.

Statement of the Problem 

A fundamental functions of government is the responsibility to provide essential service and infrastructure for the wellbeing of the people such as the provision of education, health facility, security, good roads, quality education etc. Therefore to achieve this objective of government, it became necessary for government to impose taxes on eligible persons and institutions in the country to raise additional financing to meet these services.
Consequently government has always formulated various tax laws, policies and system to meet the challenges of raising additional revenue. They include: Income Tax Management Act (ITMA), Companies Income Tax Decree (CIID), Joint Tax Board (JIB) etc. as a measure of ensuring adherence to tax payment and discouraging tax evasion and avoidance. Therefore the problem confronting the research is to proffer an Assessment of Nigeria tax system and its effect on the public sector.

 Objectives of the Study 

To determine whether the Nigerian tax system significantly affect the Nigerian public sector.
Research Questions
Does Nigerian tax system significatly affect public sectors in Nigeria?

Significance of the Study 

This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.

Research Hypothesis

Ho:   Nigerian tax system has no significant effect on public sectors in Nigeria.

Scope of the Study 

The study focuses on the assessment of Nigeria tax system and its effect on the public sector.

Limitations of the Study 

The study was confronted by the following constraints;
Financial constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
Time constraint: The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

Definition of Terms 

TAX: A compulsory sum of money imposed by the government on its citizen for the provision of public goods and services.
TAX BASE: This is the object which is taxed for instance personal income, company profit.
TAX RATE: The rate at which tax is charged.
TAX INCIDENCE: It offers to the effect of and where the burden is finally rested.
FBIRS: Federal Board of Inland Revenue Services. It is an operational arm of Federal Board of Inland Revenue which is responsible for the Federal Tax matters.
CITA: Company Income Tax Act (CITA) is a federal law operated by the FIRS, which deals with the taxation of all limited liability companies in Nigeria with the exception of those engaged in petroleum operations.
JTB: Joint Tax Board (JTB) is established under Section 85(1) of Decree 104 of 1993 to arbitrate on tax disputes between one state tax authority and another.
VAT: Value Added Tax is a multistage tax levied and collected on transactions at all stages of sales and distribution.
CGTA: Capital Gain Tax Act is an act that stipulates that all capital gains arising on disposal of asset of individual partnership and limited companies should be taxed.
PPTA: Petroleum Profit Tax Act is an act that regulates the petroleum profit tax and also specifies how profit from petroleum will be taxed.
WITHHOLDING TAX: This is tax charged on investment income namely: rents, interest, royalties and dividends, presently it is charged as the tax offset.
PROGRESSIVE TAX: This is a tax incidence that increases as the size of income increases.
REGRESSIVE TAX: A tax is regressive when its tax rate decreases as the income increases.
EXCISE DUTIES: These are taxes on some goods manufactured within a country.
PERSONS: It includes all taxable persons whether it be individual or corporate bodies.