VALUE ADDED TAX GROWTH AND THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY; IN REVIEW

Abstract

Valued Added Tax is a tax on the supply of goods and services, which is eventually borne by the final consumer but collect at each stage of production and distribution chain. Value Added Tax is one of the major tools for income generation in the Nigerian Economy. Apart from tax, no other form of tax has spread as rapidly worldwide as the value Added Tax (VAT). Presently many countries throughout the world operate VAT and more are willing to adopt it. The objective of the study is to study the growth of value added tax in the Nigeria economy. 18 research questions were raise for the study while one hypothesis was formulated. The research design was adopted for the study; with a sample size of 60. The data collected was subjected to pilot test. The hypothesis was  tested using five of the research questions of 8, 12, 15, 17, 18 to determine if truly value added tax has helped in the growth of the Nigerian economy. The analysis of the data was based on statistical frequency tables and chi-square (X²) technique was used to test the level of significance. Some of the findings are that, value added tax has contributed significantly in the development of the Nigerian economy. A conclusion was drawn that value added tax has a big potential that can make a positive contribution to overall government revenue.  Recommendations were made such as there should be complete computerization of the data base to be created for VAT and adequate resources to be provided for FIRS to enable it to provide modern equipment’s, tools and techniques in the discharge of its functions.