Tax Evasion and Avoidance by Entrepreneurs and Tax authority’s Behaviours: Impediments to Kogi State’s Economic Development

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine why revenue from taxes in Kogi State are inconsistent, thereby affecting negatively the revenue generated from taxes. The researcher investigated tax evasion and avoidance by entrepreneurs in Kogi State to see what implications they have on the Nigerian economy. The board of internal revenue in Kogi State has been constantly criticised for being corrupt, not transparent and giving low accountability. Questionnaire, interviews, and documents analysis were used. The interviews from across Kogi State were analysed from the interview transcript and data from the questionnaires were analysed using descriptive statistics. The findings show that the Board of Internal Revenue in Kogi state does not enlighten the citizens on what, how, why, and when to pay taxes; Tax officers do not properly account for taxes collected; there are no social amenities to show for the taxes paid by the people; findings also show that taxpayers pay tax for fear of the law enforcement agents and from being prosecuted. It was recommended that revenue officers should not be employed based on party, religious or ethnic affiliations to allow for proper accountability; qualified accountants should be employed to occupy strategic positions in the Board; tax authorities should embark on tax enlightenment campaigns to tell the people why they should pay tax; tax laws should be vigorously and promptly enforced; and government should not engage tax contractors and consultants in collecting taxes.