TOWARDS CURBING THE MENACE OF MULTIPLE TAXATIONS IN NIGERIA’S BUSINESS TAX REGIME

Abstract

Taxes are civic duties which citizens of a nation-state are mandated by statute to perform for provision of common foods and services. Thus, by payment of taxes, citizens contribute to building sovereign state and the governments are presumed to use these revenues responsibly to meet their obligations in providing essential public services to all citizens. In Nigeria, the legal frameworks for business taxation are enshrined in the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, various business taxing statutes, Taxes and Levies Act, among others. Thus, the present paper therefore is an academic contribution to examine the extent of duplication of extant business taxing statutes which have seemed to have impeded the growth and development of the business climate. The paper adopted doctrinal methodology using expository and analytical approaches. Consequently, it was the findings of the paper, among others, that the nation’s business tax regime has been submerged by too many overlapping taxes and levies being imposed and collected by various tiers of government in spite of the existence of the Taxes and Levies Act including the express wordings of the 1999 Constitution clarifying collectible taxes by the competing various tiers of government. Based on the above, an urgent review of the extant business taxing statutes, among others, was advocated to alleviate the present burden of multiple taxation on the business community as a way forward.