CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
OF THE STUDY
Nigeria as a nation has the
vision of becoming one among the world’s 20 largest economies in the year 2020;
this obviously is the brain behind the priority attention the present
administration is directing at infrastructural development which is essential
for economic growth. A developed economy is one with the ingredient to stimulate
investment and create wealth, this by implication offers an atmosphere that is
business friendly and has the potentials for the actualization of the vision
202020.The desired outcome requires a lot of money to put the economy in a
position that stimulates investment, therefore, tax policies need to attract
potential investors, and the revenue from tax should be sufficient enough to
meet the infrastructural expenditures of the government (Worlu, 2012).
Apere (2003) notes that
taxation is a microeconomic and fiscal policy instrument; it involves the transfer
of resources from the private to the public sector for the accomplishment of
economic and social goals. It is an instrument the government uses to measure,
access and control the informal sector that dominate developing economies of
the world (Wambai and Hanga, 2013).
This research contends that
taxation is an instrument of economic development. Towards this end, this study
examines taxation as a tool for economic development using Federal Inland
Revenue Service.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Recently, revenue derived from taxes
has been very low and no physical development actually took place, hence the
impact on the poor is not being felt. Inadequate tax personnel, fraudulent
activities of tax collectors and lack of understanding of the importance to pay
tax by tax payers are some of the problems of this study. The issues mentioned
above will therefore constitute the problem to be addressed by this research
work.
1.3 OBJECTIVES
OF THE STUDY
i) To examine taxation as a tool for
economic development in Nigeria.
ii) To find out whether taxation contributed
to the development of Nigeria economy.
iii) To examine the role of taxation for
economic development of Nigeria.
iv) To find out the importance of taxation in
the development of an economy through proper use of its tools.
v) To make possible recommendations based on
the findings of this research work.
1.4 RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
i) Does taxation as a tool aid economic
development in Nigeria?
ii) Does taxation contributed to the
development of Nigeria?
iii) Does taxation play any role for economic
growth and development in Nigeria?
iv) Does taxation has any impact on the
development of an economy through proper use of its tools?
1.5 RESEARCH
HYPOTHESES
Hypothesis 1:
H0: Taxation as a tool does not aid economic
development of Nigeria.
Hypothesis 2:
H0: Taxation does not play any role for economic
growth and development in Nigeria.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY
The essence of this research work is to examine
taxation as a tool for economic development of Nigeria. Thus, this study will
at a wide-range be of benefit to the local, state and federal governments, as
it will highlight the importance of taxation in the society.
This study would also be of benefit to employers
and employees of Federal Inland Revenue Service Uyo, who has been experiencing
incorporation of tax payers by paying their taxes regularly.
Also, the public, private sectors, individuals,
business owners will find it necessary by encouraging them to comply by paying
their tax.
It would also be of immense benefits to students of
higher learning who may wish to carry out research on the similar topic.