Lateef Ayodele Agbetunde | Yaba College of Technology, Lagos. Nigeria (original) (raw)

Papers by Lateef Ayodele Agbetunde

International Journal of Applied Economics, Finance and Accounting, 2021

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on individuals, businesses, economy and governments has become a ... more The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on individuals, businesses, economy and governments has become a focus of attention in recent times by scholars, administrators and policy makers. Many researches have been conducted on COVID-19 with less focus on its impact on Internally Generated Revenues (IGR) in Local Governments (LGs). COVID-19 pandemic has impaired the economies and activities of the informal sector (IS) which form the nucleus of rate/taxpayers in LGs. This affects LGs finances in meeting the infrastructural and social-economics needs of the people at the grassroots level. Therefore, the study examined COVID-19 and its impact on LGs IGR in Nigeria, and how to enhance future IS tax compliance and LGs IGR. The study employed exploratory research design with focus on literatures in the area of LG administration and COVID-19 pandemic, public sector accounting and finance, and Nigeria constitution. Secondary data on IGR of LGs in Lagos state were collected while descriptive statistics was adopted for data analysis. The study concluded that COVID-19 pandemic affects many lives, business, and governments. It impacted negatively on the revenues and finances of LGs. However, Public trust, accountability and transparency are key to realization of revenues, therefore, policy makers at the LGs needs to recognize the importance and role of IS on economic development and IGR potentials by extending palliatives measures. LGs should also computerize their revenues register while economic recovery team should be set up on revenue assurance, and how to tackle post COVID-19 financial capability and tax evasion. Funding: This study received no specific financial support. Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. 1. Introduction Revenue in Local government is a generic terms that involves tax and non-tax sources of revenues. According to Agya, Ibrahim, and Emmanuel (2015) revenue is all form of monetary receipts from both taxes and non-taxes sources. A tax revenue is a compulsory payment on income, profit and property while non-tax revenue are collectables that are subjects to usage or activities, these are fees, fines, rates, tolls, licences, permits and other miscellaneous revenues. According to Federal Ministry of Finance (2012) the National Tax Policy (NTP) defined revenue as income received from all activities engaged in by the receiving entity. It is the entire amount received by the government from all sources within and outside the government entity. Revenues generation is vital to local government because local governments are established to provide for the immediate needs of the people at the grassroots level. Local governments are created to enhance the process of democratization, provision of goods and services and to facilitate citizens' participation in decision making at the grassroots level (Adekoya, 2020). The creation of local governments are subjected to political, social and cultural structure of self-governance and this makes the local governments to become unique in terms of economic, social-cultural, political and physical characteristics. Despite these, most citizens has lost trust in

Journal of Business and Economic Analysis

The purpose of this paper is to examine the hierarchical effects of Public Health Responses (PHRs... more The purpose of this paper is to examine the hierarchical effects of Public Health Responses (PHRs) and fiscal policy measures (FPMs) on the tax morale (TM) of entrepreneurial firms in Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic. The theoretical basis for the study is based on social contract theory (SCT) and fiscal exchange theory (FET), which oblige entrepreneurs to pay taxes to the state in return for public goods and social services. Using a cross-sectional survey design, we collected primary data from 177 professional managers of entrepreneurial firms in Nigeria using online questionnaires. The sampled firms were accessed with the support of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce. Data collected at a point in time reflecting respondents’ views on the impact of PHRs and FPMs on TM were analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis. Three estimates emerged from the hierarchical regression analyses. The first estimation suggests that the PHRs have a significant positive effect on the TM of entre...

Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, 2020

The paper assessed the influence of religiosity and tax morale on tax compliance of MSMEs focusin... more The paper assessed the influence of religiosity and tax morale on tax compliance of MSMEs focusing on SouthWest , Nigeria. Primary data was employed through the use of structured questionnaire administered to the respondents to collect data (Reliability's Cronbach alpha = 0.891). Population of the study covers individuals operating in the informal sector in Lagos, Oyo and Osun state in Nigeria. A sample of 500 MSMEs operators was purposefully selected. Responses were analysed using percentages, mean and regression. The study found that religiosity (total, not neither inter-nor intra-personal), as well as tax morale components (especially, sentiment, norms and value, taxpayers' attitude and fairness of tax system, but not governance and trust), exerted a significant influence on tax compliance among operators of MSMEs in SouthWest , Nigeria. The paper concludes that religiosity and tax morale had a significant effect on tax compliance among MSMEs in Nigeria. It recommends that stakeholders should ensure tax morale among operators of MSMSEs in Nigeria should be induced; likewise level of religiosity among individuals should be induced at both individual (intra-personal dimension) as well as the social level (inter-personal dimension) for it to be effective in influencing variation in tax compliance among Nigerians.

The study examined environmental accounting and information asymmetry in developing economy with ... more The study examined environmental accounting and information asymmetry in developing economy with special focus on companies listed on Nigerian Stock Exchange. Four specific objectives se are to assess environmental accounting (EA) practices and reporting among listed companies; assess the level of information asymmetry (IA) among stakeholders of listed companies; examine if there is significant association between AE and IA; and examine if there environmental accounting can significantly impact IA. Hypotheses were drawn from each objectives were tested. The study is of the view that information asymmetry is a perception issue on the part of external users of financial information. It therefore deviates from approaches adopted by most of the earlier studies (i.e. using secondary data) by using primary data to achieve its objectives. Population for the study was professional Accountants in Nigeria. Sample was selected using purposeful and convenient techniques to survey Fellows of the...

The study examined the effect of tax morale on compliance among the self-employed taxpayers, usin... more The study examined the effect of tax morale on compliance among the self-employed taxpayers, using tax compliance value chain (TCVC) analysis. It adopted the survey research design on taxpayers from selected states in South-West, Nigeria. Stratified purposeful sampling technique was used to select the respondents, using a validated questionnaire for data collection. The study found that tax morale had a significant effect on compliance, even at each point on the tax compliance value chain. The study recommended fairness, accountability, transparency and service oriented performance.

Journal of Culture, Society and Development, 2016

This study empirically assessed procedural justice and fiscal exchange across the three main cult... more This study empirically assessed procedural justice and fiscal exchange across the three main cultural groups in Nigeria. Targeted population was individual taxpayers (n=500) using mainly questionnaire for its primary data. Data were statistically analysed with SPSS. Result shows favourable perception of each of the psychological factors as well as high level of tax compliance. The three variables are however found to vary significantly across cultures thus establishing relevance of culture on each psychological factors and tax compliance. Other factors found relevant are taxpayers’ bio-data like age, gender, religion, as well as employment category as a measure of opportunity to evade tax. On a general note, major finding from the study agrees with findings from earlier researches. It however concluded that model that can ensure sustainable tax compliance would be a comprehensive one that considers all economic, social, cultural, psychological factors. Recommendations were made to m...

Sustainability of human societies hinges on social contract between the rulers and the ruled, whe... more Sustainability of human societies hinges on social contract between the rulers and the ruled, whereby the rulers provide public goods and service for the ruled and the ruled pay tax as the price for the benefits derived. Meanwhile, tax compliance has been an issue of concern from its inception and may continue, as long as government needs funds for its projects. Studies have revealed the inadequacy of tax morale, the driver of tax compliance, in fully explaining tax compliance due to complexities in identifying latter’s causative factors. Not many studies have examined this tax morale among self-employed especially in developing country like Nigeria. This study examined tax morale with a view to assessing its predictors among self-employed taxpayer in selected South-West Nigeria. It adopted descriptive and survey designs. Population of the study was 9,381,736 potential taxpayers in the jurisdiction. Sample size of 500 was determined using purposive sampling technique for individuals...

Research Journal of Finance and Accounting, 2015

The study empirically assessed tax evasion and the ethical reasons put up to justify it across ma... more The study empirically assessed tax evasion and the ethical reasons put up to justify it across major tribes/cultures of individual Nigerian taxpayers. Earlier studies were reviewed before questionnaire administration on respondents (n=500). Data were analysed with parametric and non-parametric statistics using SPSS 19. The results show high level of tax evasion and the three ethical reasons examined are found to have strong influence on tax evasion with significant difference along culture and religion. Generally, group identity (tribe/culture and religion) is found to show highest influence on tax evasion as well as its ethical reasons, but the difference is more pronounced for religious identification and participation. Hausas are found to be highest evaders among Nigerians. Similarly, worshipers of traditional religions evade taxes more than any others. Igbos and Yorubas exhibited similar pattern of opinions on ethical reasons for evasion as well as tax evasion. Other variables s...

Izvestiya Journal of the University of Economics – Varna

The study assessed the association between corporate governance and value relevance of financial ... more The study assessed the association between corporate governance and value relevance of financial statement of Nigerian listed consumer goods firms. Historical data were generated from the financial statements of the 10 sampled firms over a period of 10 years (2010- 2019). Random effects least squares technique was the estimation technique adopted. Corporate governance was measured with board composition, board due diligence, audit committee independence, board size and firm size, while market value of share was the surrogate for value relevance. The results of the study showed that board due diligence; audit committee independence; board size were relevant to market value of shares of sampled firms while board composition was not relevant. The study concluded that frequencies of meeting, audit committee independence and board size influenced market value of share. Hence, the study suggested that shareholders and regulatory bodies should incorporate identified relevant mechanisms of ...

Marketing and Branding Research

The paper made a factor analysis of the variables that shape the tax morale of individuals in dev... more The paper made a factor analysis of the variables that shape the tax morale of individuals in developing economies as well as the factors that citizens considered to be important in assessing government performance. Data from the Afrobarometer Survey 6 Questionnaire administered on Nigerians was used for the analysis. Desk review of several journal articles was made to extract the relevant factors used for the study. A collection of variables offered in the literature as determinants of tax morale and the aspects of government that are measured when assessing government performance were synthesized as measurement parameters. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted using principal component analysis. The study established that the data from Afrobarometer Survey 6 on Nigeria was found reliable with adequate goodness of fits, which is significant for any study. The paper found six of the items on the questionnaire suitable to measure tax morale and ten other items suitable as measures of government performance under three dimensions as an improvement on economic issues, infrastructure provision, and social issues. The paper recommends that the government and other policymakers should pay sufficient attention to tax morale and the performance of government, especially adequate provision of food and improving the standard of living among the poor citizens before attempts at controlling crime.

Journal of Accounting, Business and Finance Research

Research on tax compliance is of economic, social and political benefit to the government and the... more Research on tax compliance is of economic, social and political benefit to the government and the citizens. Constant loss of tax revenue due to level of Quality of Tax Service (QTS) rendered by tax authority is perceived to have adversely affected nation's revenue generation and infrastructural development. Researches have been carried out on taxpayers' compliance, but not many considered the effect of QTS in their study. This studied looked at the probable influence of QTS on taxpayers' Voluntary Tax Compliance (VTC) behaviour in SouthWest , Nigeria. The study used survey research design with study population of 5,216,422 individual taxpayers. Data were collected with validated questionnaire by means of random sampling techniques. Sample size of 1,200 was used with a response rate of 87.6%. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data at 5% significance level. The study revealed that QTS positively influenced VTC among individual taxpayers in the study states (Adj.R 2 =.117, F(6, 1050) =24.139, p =.000). There was evidence that trust in State Internal Revenue Service, QTS and employment status have significant relationship with VTC behaviour while gender, age and educational level do not have significant relationship with VTC in the study states respectively. The study concluded that QTS influenced VTC. Therefore, lack of tax awareness, tax education/information and poor tax service delivery was responsible for tax non-compliance. The study recommended that government should carry out tax education/information and tax awareness to taxpayers while tax officials should apply the concept of public management to tax service delivery.

Marketing and Branding Research

The paper made a factor analysis of the variables that shape the tax morale of individuals in dev... more The paper made a factor analysis of the variables that shape the tax morale of individuals in developing economies as well as the factors that citizens considered to be important in assessing government performance. Data from the Afrobarometer Survey 6 Questionnaire administered on Nigerians was used for the analysis. Desk review of several journal articles was made to extract the relevant factors used for the study. A collection of variables offered in the literature as determinants of tax morale and the aspects of government that are measured when assessing government performance were synthesized as measurement parameters. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted using principal component analysis. The study established that the data from Afrobarometer Survey 6 on Nigeria was found reliable with adequate goodness of fits, which is significant for any study. The paper found six of the items on the questionnaire suitable to measure tax morale and ten other items suitable as measures of government performance under three dimensions as an improvement on economic issues, infrastructure provision, and social issues. The paper recommends that the government and other policymakers should pay sufficient attention to tax morale and the performance of government, especially adequate provision of food and improving the standard of living among the poor citizens before attempts at controlling crime.

Empirical studies revealed the limitations of rational economic theories in accurately predicting... more Empirical studies revealed the limitations of rational economic theories in accurately predicting compliance level, the puzzle on reasons why people pay taxes therefore still remain unsolved. Efforts of recent studies now move away from examining reasons behind evasion to assessing reason why people actually pay taxes. Noteworthy achievement in this direction is the identification of tax morale as fundamental factor behind reasons for tax compliance. Literature in the last few decades had being examining factors that influence this identified tax morale. Factors considered to be influencing tax morale include perception of government’s institutions performance of including tax authorities. But most studies used only micro data to examine this complex puzzle. This paper examined impact of government performance on tax morale in Nigeria, a sub-Sahara African country adopting macro data from Afrobarometer survey Rounds 1 to 7 collected between 1999 and 2017. The study also examined the...

International Journal of Ethics and Systems

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the moderating influence of religiosity on the effect of t... more Purpose This paper aims to investigate the moderating influence of religiosity on the effect of taxpaying attitudes on the tax compliance behaviour of entrepreneurial firms in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach Using a cross-sectional survey design, we collected primary data from 368 owner managers of entrepreneurial firms in Southwest Nigeria using structured questionnaires. Respondents were purposefully selected based on the purposive sampling technique. The data collected with the structured questionnaires were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Two linear regression models were compared. Findings Estimations in Models 1 and 2 suggest that taxpayers’ attitudes and religiosity (intra- and interreligiosity) have significant effects on the tax compliance behaviour of firms, but the influence of intrareligiosity is insignificant. Estimations in Model 3 suggest that taxpaying attitudes without the moderating influence of religiosity exerted a significant effect o...

The paper made a factor analysis of the variables that shape the tax morale of individuals in dev... more The paper made a factor analysis of the variables that shape the tax morale of individuals in developing economies as well as the factors that citizens considered to be important in assessing government performance. Data from the Afrobarometer Survey 6 Questionnaire administered on Nigerians was used for the analysis. Desk review of several journal articles was made to extract the relevant factors used for the study. A collection of variables offered in the literature as determinants of tax morale and the aspects of government that are measured when assessing government performance were synthesized as measurement parameters. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted using principal component analysis. The study established that the data from Afrobarometer Survey 6 on Nigeria was found reliable with adequate goodness of fits, which is significant for any study. The paper found six of the items on the questionnaire suitable to measure tax morale and ten other items suitable as measures of government performance under three dimensions as an improvement on economic issues, infrastructure provision, and social issues. The paper recommends that the government and other policymakers should pay sufficient attention to tax morale and the performance of government, especially adequate provision of food and improving the standard of living among the poor citizens before attempts at controlling crime.

Journal of Accounting, business and finance research, 2020

Research on tax compliance is of economic, social and political benefit to the government and the... more Research on tax compliance is of economic, social and political benefit to the government and the citizens. Constant loss of tax revenue due to level of Quality of Tax Service (QTS) rendered by tax authority is perceived to have adversely affected nation's revenue generation and infrastructural development. Researches have been carried out on taxpayers' compliance, but not many considered the effect of QTS in their study. This studied looked at the probable influence of QTS on taxpayers' Voluntary Tax Compliance (VTC) behaviour in SouthWest , Nigeria. The study used survey research design with study population of 5,216,422 individual taxpayers. Data were collected with validated questionnaire by means of random sampling techniques. Sample size of 1,200 was used with a response rate of 87.6%. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data at 5% significance level. The study revealed that QTS positively influenced VTC among individual taxpayers in the stu...

Case study Journal, 2020

The paper examined the effect of integrated reporting on the fundamental qualitative characterist... more The paper examined the effect of integrated reporting on the fundamental qualitative characteristics of financial statements among listed companies in Nigeria. It adopted survey design using questionnaire to elicit responses from stakeholders in financial reporting chain. Responses were analysed with descriptive and inferential statistics. The paper found that integrated reporting, measured by financial, manufactured, natural, intellectual, social responsibility and human capitals, exerted significant effect on the fundamental qualitative characteristics of financial statements of listed companies in Nigeria. Individually, the two highest contributions came from non-financial capital. The paper concluded that integrated reporting exerted significant effect on the fundamental qualitative characteristics of financial statements. The paper recommended, among others that, companies listed on Nigerian stock exchange should be mandated to be publishing integrated reporting for the use of their stakeholders, and that the government, relevant professional bodies, the regulators and gatekeepers should contribute their own quotas towards its successful practices.

The paper examined the effect of integrated reporting on the fundamental qualitative characterist... more The paper examined the effect of integrated reporting on the fundamental qualitative characteristics of financial statements among listed companies in Nigeria. It adopted survey design using questionnaire to elicit responses from stakeholders in financial reporting chain. Responses were analysed with descriptive and inferential statistics. The paper found that integrated reporting, measured by financial, manufactured, natural, intellectual, social responsibility and human capitals, exerted significant effect on the fundamental qualitative characteristics of financial statements of listed companies in Nigeria. Individually, the two highest contributions came from non-financial capital. The paper concluded that integrated reporting exerted significant effect on the fundamental qualitative characteristics of financial statements. The paper recommended, among others that, companies listed on Nigerian stock exchange should be mandated to be publishing integrated reporting for the use of their stakeholders, and that the government, relevant professional bodies, the regulators and gatekeepers should contribute their own quotas towards its successful practices.

The paper assessed the effects of government performance on tax morale of individuals in Nigeria.... more The paper assessed the effects of government performance on tax morale of individuals in Nigeria. The study adopted data from the Afrobarometer survey of Nigerians adults (n =2,400). The data was collected through interview survey of individuals in Nigeria. Desk review of several journal articles were made to give basis for
the study. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling by drawing inspiration from the theory of planned behaviour and motivation theory. Generally, the study found that government performance, measured
along performance on economic activities, improvement in infrastructure facilities and improvement in social
issues, exerted significant influence on tax morale of individual taxpayers in Nigeria. Notably, it was found that, citizens had negative perception of any effort of government in controlling crime alone, until food is available and people are living in reasonable condition. The results from the study gave significant factors that
stakeholders and future researchers should focus on as determinants of tax morale as well as critical areas of government activities that individuals give priorities to when assessing government performance. The results
also gave direction that several factors significantly interact and modify each other and, resultantly, influence tax morale of individuals in Nigeria. The paper recommended that stakeholders in taxation in Nigeria should bepaying more attention to tax morale and the performance of governments to ensure measures are put in place to induce tax morale in
addition to the deterrence measures.

International Journal of Applied Economics, Finance and Accounting, 2021

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on individuals, businesses, economy and governments has become a ... more The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on individuals, businesses, economy and governments has become a focus of attention in recent times by scholars, administrators and policy makers. Many researches have been conducted on COVID-19 with less focus on its impact on Internally Generated Revenues (IGR) in Local Governments (LGs). COVID-19 pandemic has impaired the economies and activities of the informal sector (IS) which form the nucleus of rate/taxpayers in LGs. This affects LGs finances in meeting the infrastructural and social-economics needs of the people at the grassroots level. Therefore, the study examined COVID-19 and its impact on LGs IGR in Nigeria, and how to enhance future IS tax compliance and LGs IGR. The study employed exploratory research design with focus on literatures in the area of LG administration and COVID-19 pandemic, public sector accounting and finance, and Nigeria constitution. Secondary data on IGR of LGs in Lagos state were collected while descriptive statistics was adopted for data analysis. The study concluded that COVID-19 pandemic affects many lives, business, and governments. It impacted negatively on the revenues and finances of LGs. However, Public trust, accountability and transparency are key to realization of revenues, therefore, policy makers at the LGs needs to recognize the importance and role of IS on economic development and IGR potentials by extending palliatives measures. LGs should also computerize their revenues register while economic recovery team should be set up on revenue assurance, and how to tackle post COVID-19 financial capability and tax evasion. Funding: This study received no specific financial support. Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. 1. Introduction Revenue in Local government is a generic terms that involves tax and non-tax sources of revenues. According to Agya, Ibrahim, and Emmanuel (2015) revenue is all form of monetary receipts from both taxes and non-taxes sources. A tax revenue is a compulsory payment on income, profit and property while non-tax revenue are collectables that are subjects to usage or activities, these are fees, fines, rates, tolls, licences, permits and other miscellaneous revenues. According to Federal Ministry of Finance (2012) the National Tax Policy (NTP) defined revenue as income received from all activities engaged in by the receiving entity. It is the entire amount received by the government from all sources within and outside the government entity. Revenues generation is vital to local government because local governments are established to provide for the immediate needs of the people at the grassroots level. Local governments are created to enhance the process of democratization, provision of goods and services and to facilitate citizens' participation in decision making at the grassroots level (Adekoya, 2020). The creation of local governments are subjected to political, social and cultural structure of self-governance and this makes the local governments to become unique in terms of economic, social-cultural, political and physical characteristics. Despite these, most citizens has lost trust in

Journal of Business and Economic Analysis

The purpose of this paper is to examine the hierarchical effects of Public Health Responses (PHRs... more The purpose of this paper is to examine the hierarchical effects of Public Health Responses (PHRs) and fiscal policy measures (FPMs) on the tax morale (TM) of entrepreneurial firms in Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic. The theoretical basis for the study is based on social contract theory (SCT) and fiscal exchange theory (FET), which oblige entrepreneurs to pay taxes to the state in return for public goods and social services. Using a cross-sectional survey design, we collected primary data from 177 professional managers of entrepreneurial firms in Nigeria using online questionnaires. The sampled firms were accessed with the support of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce. Data collected at a point in time reflecting respondents’ views on the impact of PHRs and FPMs on TM were analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis. Three estimates emerged from the hierarchical regression analyses. The first estimation suggests that the PHRs have a significant positive effect on the TM of entre...

Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, 2020

The paper assessed the influence of religiosity and tax morale on tax compliance of MSMEs focusin... more The paper assessed the influence of religiosity and tax morale on tax compliance of MSMEs focusing on SouthWest , Nigeria. Primary data was employed through the use of structured questionnaire administered to the respondents to collect data (Reliability's Cronbach alpha = 0.891). Population of the study covers individuals operating in the informal sector in Lagos, Oyo and Osun state in Nigeria. A sample of 500 MSMEs operators was purposefully selected. Responses were analysed using percentages, mean and regression. The study found that religiosity (total, not neither inter-nor intra-personal), as well as tax morale components (especially, sentiment, norms and value, taxpayers' attitude and fairness of tax system, but not governance and trust), exerted a significant influence on tax compliance among operators of MSMEs in SouthWest , Nigeria. The paper concludes that religiosity and tax morale had a significant effect on tax compliance among MSMEs in Nigeria. It recommends that stakeholders should ensure tax morale among operators of MSMSEs in Nigeria should be induced; likewise level of religiosity among individuals should be induced at both individual (intra-personal dimension) as well as the social level (inter-personal dimension) for it to be effective in influencing variation in tax compliance among Nigerians.

The study examined environmental accounting and information asymmetry in developing economy with ... more The study examined environmental accounting and information asymmetry in developing economy with special focus on companies listed on Nigerian Stock Exchange. Four specific objectives se are to assess environmental accounting (EA) practices and reporting among listed companies; assess the level of information asymmetry (IA) among stakeholders of listed companies; examine if there is significant association between AE and IA; and examine if there environmental accounting can significantly impact IA. Hypotheses were drawn from each objectives were tested. The study is of the view that information asymmetry is a perception issue on the part of external users of financial information. It therefore deviates from approaches adopted by most of the earlier studies (i.e. using secondary data) by using primary data to achieve its objectives. Population for the study was professional Accountants in Nigeria. Sample was selected using purposeful and convenient techniques to survey Fellows of the...

The study examined the effect of tax morale on compliance among the self-employed taxpayers, usin... more The study examined the effect of tax morale on compliance among the self-employed taxpayers, using tax compliance value chain (TCVC) analysis. It adopted the survey research design on taxpayers from selected states in South-West, Nigeria. Stratified purposeful sampling technique was used to select the respondents, using a validated questionnaire for data collection. The study found that tax morale had a significant effect on compliance, even at each point on the tax compliance value chain. The study recommended fairness, accountability, transparency and service oriented performance.

Journal of Culture, Society and Development, 2016

This study empirically assessed procedural justice and fiscal exchange across the three main cult... more This study empirically assessed procedural justice and fiscal exchange across the three main cultural groups in Nigeria. Targeted population was individual taxpayers (n=500) using mainly questionnaire for its primary data. Data were statistically analysed with SPSS. Result shows favourable perception of each of the psychological factors as well as high level of tax compliance. The three variables are however found to vary significantly across cultures thus establishing relevance of culture on each psychological factors and tax compliance. Other factors found relevant are taxpayers’ bio-data like age, gender, religion, as well as employment category as a measure of opportunity to evade tax. On a general note, major finding from the study agrees with findings from earlier researches. It however concluded that model that can ensure sustainable tax compliance would be a comprehensive one that considers all economic, social, cultural, psychological factors. Recommendations were made to m...

Sustainability of human societies hinges on social contract between the rulers and the ruled, whe... more Sustainability of human societies hinges on social contract between the rulers and the ruled, whereby the rulers provide public goods and service for the ruled and the ruled pay tax as the price for the benefits derived. Meanwhile, tax compliance has been an issue of concern from its inception and may continue, as long as government needs funds for its projects. Studies have revealed the inadequacy of tax morale, the driver of tax compliance, in fully explaining tax compliance due to complexities in identifying latter’s causative factors. Not many studies have examined this tax morale among self-employed especially in developing country like Nigeria. This study examined tax morale with a view to assessing its predictors among self-employed taxpayer in selected South-West Nigeria. It adopted descriptive and survey designs. Population of the study was 9,381,736 potential taxpayers in the jurisdiction. Sample size of 500 was determined using purposive sampling technique for individuals...

Research Journal of Finance and Accounting, 2015

The study empirically assessed tax evasion and the ethical reasons put up to justify it across ma... more The study empirically assessed tax evasion and the ethical reasons put up to justify it across major tribes/cultures of individual Nigerian taxpayers. Earlier studies were reviewed before questionnaire administration on respondents (n=500). Data were analysed with parametric and non-parametric statistics using SPSS 19. The results show high level of tax evasion and the three ethical reasons examined are found to have strong influence on tax evasion with significant difference along culture and religion. Generally, group identity (tribe/culture and religion) is found to show highest influence on tax evasion as well as its ethical reasons, but the difference is more pronounced for religious identification and participation. Hausas are found to be highest evaders among Nigerians. Similarly, worshipers of traditional religions evade taxes more than any others. Igbos and Yorubas exhibited similar pattern of opinions on ethical reasons for evasion as well as tax evasion. Other variables s...

Izvestiya Journal of the University of Economics – Varna

The study assessed the association between corporate governance and value relevance of financial ... more The study assessed the association between corporate governance and value relevance of financial statement of Nigerian listed consumer goods firms. Historical data were generated from the financial statements of the 10 sampled firms over a period of 10 years (2010- 2019). Random effects least squares technique was the estimation technique adopted. Corporate governance was measured with board composition, board due diligence, audit committee independence, board size and firm size, while market value of share was the surrogate for value relevance. The results of the study showed that board due diligence; audit committee independence; board size were relevant to market value of shares of sampled firms while board composition was not relevant. The study concluded that frequencies of meeting, audit committee independence and board size influenced market value of share. Hence, the study suggested that shareholders and regulatory bodies should incorporate identified relevant mechanisms of ...

Marketing and Branding Research

The paper made a factor analysis of the variables that shape the tax morale of individuals in dev... more The paper made a factor analysis of the variables that shape the tax morale of individuals in developing economies as well as the factors that citizens considered to be important in assessing government performance. Data from the Afrobarometer Survey 6 Questionnaire administered on Nigerians was used for the analysis. Desk review of several journal articles was made to extract the relevant factors used for the study. A collection of variables offered in the literature as determinants of tax morale and the aspects of government that are measured when assessing government performance were synthesized as measurement parameters. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted using principal component analysis. The study established that the data from Afrobarometer Survey 6 on Nigeria was found reliable with adequate goodness of fits, which is significant for any study. The paper found six of the items on the questionnaire suitable to measure tax morale and ten other items suitable as measures of government performance under three dimensions as an improvement on economic issues, infrastructure provision, and social issues. The paper recommends that the government and other policymakers should pay sufficient attention to tax morale and the performance of government, especially adequate provision of food and improving the standard of living among the poor citizens before attempts at controlling crime.

Journal of Accounting, Business and Finance Research

Research on tax compliance is of economic, social and political benefit to the government and the... more Research on tax compliance is of economic, social and political benefit to the government and the citizens. Constant loss of tax revenue due to level of Quality of Tax Service (QTS) rendered by tax authority is perceived to have adversely affected nation's revenue generation and infrastructural development. Researches have been carried out on taxpayers' compliance, but not many considered the effect of QTS in their study. This studied looked at the probable influence of QTS on taxpayers' Voluntary Tax Compliance (VTC) behaviour in SouthWest , Nigeria. The study used survey research design with study population of 5,216,422 individual taxpayers. Data were collected with validated questionnaire by means of random sampling techniques. Sample size of 1,200 was used with a response rate of 87.6%. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data at 5% significance level. The study revealed that QTS positively influenced VTC among individual taxpayers in the study states (Adj.R 2 =.117, F(6, 1050) =24.139, p =.000). There was evidence that trust in State Internal Revenue Service, QTS and employment status have significant relationship with VTC behaviour while gender, age and educational level do not have significant relationship with VTC in the study states respectively. The study concluded that QTS influenced VTC. Therefore, lack of tax awareness, tax education/information and poor tax service delivery was responsible for tax non-compliance. The study recommended that government should carry out tax education/information and tax awareness to taxpayers while tax officials should apply the concept of public management to tax service delivery.

Marketing and Branding Research

The paper made a factor analysis of the variables that shape the tax morale of individuals in dev... more The paper made a factor analysis of the variables that shape the tax morale of individuals in developing economies as well as the factors that citizens considered to be important in assessing government performance. Data from the Afrobarometer Survey 6 Questionnaire administered on Nigerians was used for the analysis. Desk review of several journal articles was made to extract the relevant factors used for the study. A collection of variables offered in the literature as determinants of tax morale and the aspects of government that are measured when assessing government performance were synthesized as measurement parameters. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted using principal component analysis. The study established that the data from Afrobarometer Survey 6 on Nigeria was found reliable with adequate goodness of fits, which is significant for any study. The paper found six of the items on the questionnaire suitable to measure tax morale and ten other items suitable as measures of government performance under three dimensions as an improvement on economic issues, infrastructure provision, and social issues. The paper recommends that the government and other policymakers should pay sufficient attention to tax morale and the performance of government, especially adequate provision of food and improving the standard of living among the poor citizens before attempts at controlling crime.

Empirical studies revealed the limitations of rational economic theories in accurately predicting... more Empirical studies revealed the limitations of rational economic theories in accurately predicting compliance level, the puzzle on reasons why people pay taxes therefore still remain unsolved. Efforts of recent studies now move away from examining reasons behind evasion to assessing reason why people actually pay taxes. Noteworthy achievement in this direction is the identification of tax morale as fundamental factor behind reasons for tax compliance. Literature in the last few decades had being examining factors that influence this identified tax morale. Factors considered to be influencing tax morale include perception of government’s institutions performance of including tax authorities. But most studies used only micro data to examine this complex puzzle. This paper examined impact of government performance on tax morale in Nigeria, a sub-Sahara African country adopting macro data from Afrobarometer survey Rounds 1 to 7 collected between 1999 and 2017. The study also examined the...

International Journal of Ethics and Systems

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the moderating influence of religiosity on the effect of t... more Purpose This paper aims to investigate the moderating influence of religiosity on the effect of taxpaying attitudes on the tax compliance behaviour of entrepreneurial firms in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach Using a cross-sectional survey design, we collected primary data from 368 owner managers of entrepreneurial firms in Southwest Nigeria using structured questionnaires. Respondents were purposefully selected based on the purposive sampling technique. The data collected with the structured questionnaires were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Two linear regression models were compared. Findings Estimations in Models 1 and 2 suggest that taxpayers’ attitudes and religiosity (intra- and interreligiosity) have significant effects on the tax compliance behaviour of firms, but the influence of intrareligiosity is insignificant. Estimations in Model 3 suggest that taxpaying attitudes without the moderating influence of religiosity exerted a significant effect o...

The paper made a factor analysis of the variables that shape the tax morale of individuals in dev... more The paper made a factor analysis of the variables that shape the tax morale of individuals in developing economies as well as the factors that citizens considered to be important in assessing government performance. Data from the Afrobarometer Survey 6 Questionnaire administered on Nigerians was used for the analysis. Desk review of several journal articles was made to extract the relevant factors used for the study. A collection of variables offered in the literature as determinants of tax morale and the aspects of government that are measured when assessing government performance were synthesized as measurement parameters. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted using principal component analysis. The study established that the data from Afrobarometer Survey 6 on Nigeria was found reliable with adequate goodness of fits, which is significant for any study. The paper found six of the items on the questionnaire suitable to measure tax morale and ten other items suitable as measures of government performance under three dimensions as an improvement on economic issues, infrastructure provision, and social issues. The paper recommends that the government and other policymakers should pay sufficient attention to tax morale and the performance of government, especially adequate provision of food and improving the standard of living among the poor citizens before attempts at controlling crime.

Journal of Accounting, business and finance research, 2020

Research on tax compliance is of economic, social and political benefit to the government and the... more Research on tax compliance is of economic, social and political benefit to the government and the citizens. Constant loss of tax revenue due to level of Quality of Tax Service (QTS) rendered by tax authority is perceived to have adversely affected nation's revenue generation and infrastructural development. Researches have been carried out on taxpayers' compliance, but not many considered the effect of QTS in their study. This studied looked at the probable influence of QTS on taxpayers' Voluntary Tax Compliance (VTC) behaviour in SouthWest , Nigeria. The study used survey research design with study population of 5,216,422 individual taxpayers. Data were collected with validated questionnaire by means of random sampling techniques. Sample size of 1,200 was used with a response rate of 87.6%. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data at 5% significance level. The study revealed that QTS positively influenced VTC among individual taxpayers in the stu...

Case study Journal, 2020

The paper examined the effect of integrated reporting on the fundamental qualitative characterist... more The paper examined the effect of integrated reporting on the fundamental qualitative characteristics of financial statements among listed companies in Nigeria. It adopted survey design using questionnaire to elicit responses from stakeholders in financial reporting chain. Responses were analysed with descriptive and inferential statistics. The paper found that integrated reporting, measured by financial, manufactured, natural, intellectual, social responsibility and human capitals, exerted significant effect on the fundamental qualitative characteristics of financial statements of listed companies in Nigeria. Individually, the two highest contributions came from non-financial capital. The paper concluded that integrated reporting exerted significant effect on the fundamental qualitative characteristics of financial statements. The paper recommended, among others that, companies listed on Nigerian stock exchange should be mandated to be publishing integrated reporting for the use of their stakeholders, and that the government, relevant professional bodies, the regulators and gatekeepers should contribute their own quotas towards its successful practices.

The paper examined the effect of integrated reporting on the fundamental qualitative characterist... more The paper examined the effect of integrated reporting on the fundamental qualitative characteristics of financial statements among listed companies in Nigeria. It adopted survey design using questionnaire to elicit responses from stakeholders in financial reporting chain. Responses were analysed with descriptive and inferential statistics. The paper found that integrated reporting, measured by financial, manufactured, natural, intellectual, social responsibility and human capitals, exerted significant effect on the fundamental qualitative characteristics of financial statements of listed companies in Nigeria. Individually, the two highest contributions came from non-financial capital. The paper concluded that integrated reporting exerted significant effect on the fundamental qualitative characteristics of financial statements. The paper recommended, among others that, companies listed on Nigerian stock exchange should be mandated to be publishing integrated reporting for the use of their stakeholders, and that the government, relevant professional bodies, the regulators and gatekeepers should contribute their own quotas towards its successful practices.

The paper assessed the effects of government performance on tax morale of individuals in Nigeria.... more The paper assessed the effects of government performance on tax morale of individuals in Nigeria. The study adopted data from the Afrobarometer survey of Nigerians adults (n =2,400). The data was collected through interview survey of individuals in Nigeria. Desk review of several journal articles were made to give basis for
the study. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling by drawing inspiration from the theory of planned behaviour and motivation theory. Generally, the study found that government performance, measured
along performance on economic activities, improvement in infrastructure facilities and improvement in social
issues, exerted significant influence on tax morale of individual taxpayers in Nigeria. Notably, it was found that, citizens had negative perception of any effort of government in controlling crime alone, until food is available and people are living in reasonable condition. The results from the study gave significant factors that
stakeholders and future researchers should focus on as determinants of tax morale as well as critical areas of government activities that individuals give priorities to when assessing government performance. The results
also gave direction that several factors significantly interact and modify each other and, resultantly, influence tax morale of individuals in Nigeria. The paper recommended that stakeholders in taxation in Nigeria should bepaying more attention to tax morale and the performance of governments to ensure measures are put in place to induce tax morale in
addition to the deterrence measures.