Division of Taxing Powers in the Federation of Nigeria

This paper examines the division of taxing powers in the peculiar Federation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with the view of enlightening stakeholders so as to reduce or eradicate the incidence of avoidable frictions that the polity and entrepreneurship in the country have persistently experienced as a result of the unabated misunderstanding of who has jurisdiction of which tax. This paper is rightly written at a time that the agitation for the amendment of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 is on the front burner. It s a notorious fact that the sharing of tax powers and revenue are prominent among the issues that have for decades now been proposed by stakeholders for constitution amendment. The methodology adopted in this research is both doctrinal, and non-doctrinal, as the work also makes use of field observations in and out of court. The paper considers the relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 and the Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Act No. 21 of 1998, among others, and underscores the need for compliance with the constitutionally and statutorily laid down division of taxing powers between the Federal Government, the State government and the local government in the country. The paper finds out that doing otherwise would remain an infringement on constitutionalism, rule of law, and the welfare of the people, which the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria describes as the primary purpose of government.