ABSTRACT

Taxation according to Collins English Dictionary defined it has a coompulsory financial contribution imposed by a government to raise revenue, levied on the income or property of person or organisaition, on the production cost or sales prices of good and services.

The study was carried out in Baruten Local Government Area, Kwara state. To find out taxation in rural area, its operation, effectiveness and problem.

The obejctive of this study is to survey and analyze as much as possible and various types of tax operation in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State in pacticular and in Nigeria in general and method of tax collection and enforcement procedure under the law.

The study will also assess the evaluation of the effectiveness of the tax collection and enforcement procedure. In view of this some recommendation were made based on findings from the study which made it as a step towards of findings a lasting solution to a lack in the collectable revenue through tax evasion, kwara state government should among other things try the people thrugh the necessary channels on the use and important of taxes so that they will be encourage to pay sub-sequent taxes.

CHAPTER ONE

1.1    GENERAL INTRODUCTION

According to oxford dictionary, it defined tax as a money that have to be paid to the government so that they ca pay for public services

Taxation has been associated with developments. For instance the revolt of Benin in 1984, the Abia women not of 1924 in Nigerian etc.

The history of man has shown that man has to pay in one form or the other, that is either in cash or in kind. Initially taxation was paid to the chieftain and later on to a form of organized government.

Taxation is almost as old as the earth itself. These was tax mentioned many times during the day of our fore fathers.

Nearly 2000 years age, for instance there was a decree from Caesar Augustus “that the whole world should be taxed. Though the use to which they have been put and the sources from which they arise changed over the ages, the principles very old.

Taxation has been practice in the ancient Greece and Rome where the extortion of tribute from conquered people from foreigners living within Greece and Rome from sales. But, no account as taken of any of the principle which guide the tax administration in modern democratic society such as quantity of taxation and ability to pay etc.

In Nigeria taxation was first practiced by our forefather in a very primitive methods. For example, the wealth of a whole community may be assessed and taxed accordingly.

The methods were changed and they were eventually taken over by laws and regulation and even by military decrees.

The most popular laws among others are the following:

1. Income tax management act (ITMA) of 1961 as amended which provides the basic rules for taxing income of persons other than companies.
2. Company income tax act (CITA) of 1979 for taxing company income.
3. Petroleum profit tax act (PPTA) of 1959 as amended which provides the basic rules taking profit on petroleum operation
4. Industrial development income tax relief act of (1971)
5. Capital gains tax act (CGTA) of 1967 administered by the federal Board of inland revenue for taxing the gain on the sales of asset (fixed) of companies and non-residents.
6. Capital transferred tax act of 1979
7. Personal income tax act (Lagos) 1961 as amended
8. Finance law 1962 as amended (Northern State)
9. Western state income tax law 1957 as amended (old Bendel state) it was in pursuance of these laws that revenue offices for collection of taxes came into being either under the federal state or local government .

1.2    STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS

Generally all these have advantages will have one defect or the other. As a result taxation in rural areas particularly have its’ defects in Baruteen Local government Area.

Though there used to be little or no problem as per assessment but problem emerge when collecting the taxes due from those that have been assessed and declared fit tax payment.

Another major problem of tax administration in Baruteen Local Government is that despite the fact that the people are allowed to pay in part, some still fail to pay. By this the officer have to go round imploring them to pay.

Also there is no enough vehicle for traveling from one place to the other and this poses a great problem for the officer to travel from the headquarter to some of the villages for assessment and collection. In this regard, the staff some times trek to some village before they could assess and collect from those villages.

It was in pursuance of these laws that revenue offices for collection of taxes came into being either under the federal, state or local government.

It is observed that in Baruten Local Government Area, most people or tax payers were just paying the tax levies without knowing how it was utilized. The tax payer believed that they were only paying the money to the government for nothing.

As a result of this, mistaken motion, the researcher felt it is very necessary to carryout this study to normalize the issue. it is therefore necessary to correct the misconception of the tax payer in Baruten Local Government Area.

The need is also necessary to study the problems facing the tax authority in Baruten Local government area and suggest possible ways of effecting good and efficient way of collecting tax within the Beruten local Government Area and Kwara state in general.

1.3    AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The aims and objective underlying this study can be summarized as follows:

The researchers intention in this project is to survey and analyze as much as possible various types of tax operation in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara state in particular and Nigeria in general and the method of tax collection as well as enforcement procedure under the law.

Also efforts have been made to identify the problem and difficulties encountered by the authority in charge and that tax payers. The study also accessed the evaluation of the effectiveness of the collection and enforcement procedure.

And finally, it has step towards finding a lasting solution to a leakages in the collectable revenue through tax evasion.