POLITICS OF TAX ADMINISTRATION IN NIGERIA DURING PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI’S GOVERNMENT, 2015-2023

Abstract

Taxation is an important part of financial policy as well as obligatory duty of the citizenry to the nation. Globally, government depends on taxes collected from the citizenry to provide social amenities in order to make life meaningful for its citizenry. However, tax administration in Nigeria has been fraught with pockets of politicking and corruption. This article examined the politics of tax administration in Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari between 2015 and 2023. The methodology was qualitative and descriptive with data elicited from newspapers, literature and journals. The article found that like other past administrations, the office of the tax collector is not usually about competence but by political expediency, ethnicity and loyalty. Tax administration is always fraught with corrupt practices and it benefits the elite groups more. The article recommends that a holistic approach to tax collection, appointment of tax administrator should be on competence, tax reforms, and employment of technology in the collection process should be emphasized.