Tax Revenue, Capital Formation, and Economic Growth in Nigeria

Abstract

Economic growth drivers aimed at stimulating and stabilizing the economies of the countries to engender sustainable growth. Studies have shown that Nigeria has been plagued with stunted and faltering economic growth over the years. Tax and other relevant macroeconomic policies are implemented by the government to smoothen out economic fluctuations but this has not been fully harnessed. A causal-effect study was conducted between tax revenue, gross fixed capital formation and economic growth using a 38-year time series data from 1981 to 2018 derived from CBN statistical bulletin. It was found that tax revenue (TR) had significant positive effect on Gross Domestic Product and Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) significantly controls the relationship between TR and GDP. It is evidenced that the country relied heavily on taxes as major source of revenue. The study recommended that government should widen its tax net, creates expansionary measures to enhance its tax revenue in order to boost its GDP. The government should also create an enabling environment for economy diversifications in order to increase revenue generated via other means than taxes in order to spur economic growth and avoid over-reliance on taxes.