GOOD GOVERNANCE: PANACEA FOR VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE WITH TAX LAWS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Taxation being the major source of government revenue is generally an involuntary fee levied by government  on  individuals  and  or  corporations  in  order to  finance  government  activities.  It  is usually  a  mandatory  financial  charge  or  levy  backed  by  law  and  imposed  on  persons, corporations or institutions, transactions, or property. Over the years, the Nigerian tax situation has  experienced  difficulties  bothin  its  compliance  and  enforcement  as  it  has  not  benefited  the required voluntary compliance. This could be based on several factors ranging from insufficient information or awareness available to taxpayers, multiple taxation imposed on taxpayers, lack of accountability  on  the  part  of  government,  lack  of  clarity  on  the  taxing  powers  of  each  tiers  of government and the encroachment on the power of one level of government on the other, lack of skilled manpower in the various tax administrative bodies leading to the delegation of powers of revenue officers to third parties thereby creating uncertainty in the tax system, amongst others.  The  above,  and  with  the  increasing  rate  of  tax  evasion  and  avoidance,  the  government  has  a major role to play to boost the confidence of the taxpayers and encourage voluntary compliance by showing accountability through good governance. This work is drawn mainly from secondary sources such as textbooks, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999; as well as other  statutes  and  journals,  in  the  attempt  to  properly  address  how  good  governance  could influence voluntary tax compliance with tax laws. It founds inter alia, that provision of the basic societal  need  by  the  government  such  as  stable  electricity  supply,  good  roads,  portable  water, healthcare  facilities  and      other  amenities,  as  well  as  show  compliance  with  the  rule  of  law, transparency  and  accountability,  effectiveness,    efficiency  and    responsiveness  of  government, will no doubt, foster voluntary compliance with tax laws in Nigeria.