Public Governance Quality and Tax Compliance in Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the relationship between public governance quality and tax compliance in Nigeria. Specifically, the studyexamined the relationship between taxpayers’ perception about public governance quality and their compliance behaviour in Nigeria; and to ascertain the relationship between financial condition and risk preference individually and jointlyamong taxpayers’ perception about public governance quality and their compliance. This study involved a survey of individual taxpayers’ opinions, perception and behaviour about public governance quality as well as tax compliance. The major finding revealed that public governance quality has a significant positive relationship with tax compliance behaviour in Nigeria. The study will also indicate that risk preference has a strong negative and moderating effect on the relationship between public governance quality and tax compliance behaviour. Administration of income tax in Nigeria is characterized by low compliance level and therefore, there is no doubt that improvement in public governance quality would contribute significantly to reawakening the culture of tax compliance among individual taxpayers in Nigeria.