Tax Awareness, Taxpayers’ Perceptions and Attitudes and Tax Evasion in Informal Sector of Ekiti State, Nigeria

Abstract

Nigeria has been desperately seeking tax revenues since 2016 due to a persistent fall in oil price and production. However, many Nigerians are not tax compliant since there was little or no emphasis on tax revenue, particularly in the informal sector during the oil boom. This paper examined the effect of Tax awareness and Taxpayers' perception of government spending on Tax evasion in the informal sector of Ekiti state. Also, the moderating effect of Taxpayers' attitude was examined. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 150 respondents, but only 108 returned the completed questionnaire, and only 100 respondents’ data were useful. The findings show that Taxpayers' awareness considerably reduced tax evasion, but the effect of Taxpayers' perception lacks analytical support. The findings also reveal that taxpayers' attitude has a significant moderating effect on the relationship between taxpayers' awareness and tax evasion. However, the moderating effect of Taxpayers' attitude on the relationship between Taxpayers' perception about government spending and Tax evasion was not statistically significant.