Governance Quality and Voluntary Tax Compliance in Nigeria

An evaluation of the quality of governance as a major determinant of tax 
compliance is important to the government and its citizens. According to tax 
compliance experts in Nigeria, inadequate governance is to blame for taxpayers' 
failure to adhere to tax regulations. Tax compliance was assessed among 
individuals in Nigeria from the perspective of governance quality. The objectives 
of the study were to examine the impact of provision of infrastructural facilities, 
voice & accountability, and trust in government on tax compliance.  The study 
made use of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) 2019 Individuals 
Survey Dataset on taxpayers' perceptions and a itudes which covers responses 
from 16,228 individuals across the 36states in Nigeria, ordered logistic regression 
was applied to analyze data. The findings indicate a favorable relationship 
between enhanced public goods and services and individual tax compliance in Nigeria. Trust in tax officials was found to have the greatest potential to improve 
individual tax compliance in Nigeria. The results also show a strong positive 
correlation between tax compliance among people in Nigeria, the availability of 
infrastructure, and public confidence in tax authorities. It was recommended that 
the government should provide more infrastructural facilities for the people 
especially adequate water supply. Also, tax officials should perform their duties 
in a fair and equitable manner. This can lead to a higher level of taxpayer's trust in 
the tax officials.