EFFECT OF TAX REFROMS ON REVENUE GENERATION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Despite successive tax reforms in Nigeria since 2007, the country’s tax-to-GDP ratio has remained persistently low compared to global benchmarks for developing economies. This raises questions about the effectiveness of these reform regimes in improving revenue mobilization. This study assessed the effect of recent tax reforms on revenue generation in Nigeria. It focused on all tax reforms between 2007 to 2025. The study adopted an ex-post facto research design using data from the Nigeria Revenue Service, CBN Statistical Bulletin and National Bureau of Statistics. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach through EViews 10 to capture both short-run and long-run dynamics. The findings revealed that tax reforms do not have a significant impact on tax-to-GDP ratio, tax reforms do not have a significant effect on tax revenue, tax reforms do not have a significant effect on non-oil revenue growth, and the effectiveness of tax reform regimes does not significantly differ during the study period. The study concluded that there is no significant difference in the effectiveness of tax reform regimes on revenue generation in Nigeria between 2007 and 2025. The study concludes that frequent legislative changes have failed to translate into improved revenue outcomes due to underlying structural weaknesses.