Achieving sustainable development through tax harmonization: potentials, paradoxes and policy imperatives

Using Nigeria as a case study, this article examines the efficacy of tax harmonization as an option for the achievement of two objectives: the integration of a developing country with other economies, and its sustainable development. It highlights the nexus between tax harmonization – a tax policy option – and sustainable development, as well as the potentials and paradoxes of tax harmonization. The article proceeds on the premise that striking the right balance between the multiplicity of policy options when designing and implementing tax policies is a great challenge for governments; tax harmonization can be adopted for diverse reasons; and the policy of harmonization within the tax sphere impacts on development of the state. The article discusses how practical barriers and challenges associated with implementing tax harmonization may be navigated through empirical information and/or research.Keywords: Tax, harmonization, sustainable development, Nigeria, economy

Optimising the Development options in TWCs: Looking beyond Foreign Aid

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version.Growth development theorists such as Rowstow have averred that third world countries (TWCs) need foreign Aid to stimulate development and move them into the 'take-off stage' which is characterised by growth and development. However, after decades of aid inflow into TWCs, the majority of TWCs are still struggling to achieve their development objectives. Therefore, it is doubtful if aids alone can jumpstart development in TWCs. This reality has given rise to a plethora of alternate propositions aimed at realising the development objectives of TWCs. The central argument of this paper is that Aid alone cannot improve the status of TWCs. It is further argued in the paper that Aid needs to be complemented by stimulants (initiated within TWCs) such as Remittance, Taxation, and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) to solve their economic development problems. To this end, it is suggested that an approach which combines indigenous options with Aid will significantly advance the development objectives of TWCs

Sub-national Involvement in Nigeria's Foreign Relations Law: An Appraisal of the Heterodoxy between Theory and Practice

Nations, in their interaction with the international system, usually have in place a legal regime governing the external exercise of the powers of the state. This regime Curtis Bradley describes as the foreign relations law (FRL) architecture of a state. In a conventional FRL system, plenary powers for the conduct of international relations reside with the central government. For countries operating a federal system of government, the centripetal and centrifugal dynamics inherent in this system of government pose a serious challenge to this orthodoxy. More so, catalysed by globalisation, subnational governments (SNGs) in federal systems are increasingly affecting the reception and operation of international norms and acting as ‘paradiplomatic’ actors in the foreign relations sphere. This emergent trend has led to a growing body of scholarship that considers individual and comparative case studies across different jurisdictions. Focusing on Nigeria as a case study, this article evaluates recent empirical evidence that shows an increase in external interactions by Nigeria's SNGs in the FDI sector since 1999. The article argues that these external interactions by Nigeria's SNGs are a deviation from the conventional constitutional configuration of Nigeria's FRL setup wherein plenary powers for foreign relations have been allocated to the Federal Government (FG)

Sub-national involvement in Nigeria's Foreign Relations Law: An appraisal of the heterodoxy between theory and practice

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version.Nations, in their interaction with the international system, usually have in place a legal regime governing the external exercise of the powers of the State. This regime Curtis Bradley describes as the foreign relations law (FRL) architecture of a State. In a conventional FRL system, plenary powers for the conduct of international relations reside with the central government. For countries operating a federal system of government, the centripetal and centrifugal dynamics inherent in this system of government pose a serious challenge to this orthodoxy. More so, catalysed by globalisation, sub-national governments (SNGs) in federal systems are increasingly affecting the reception and operation of international norms and acting as 'paradiplomatic' actors in the foreign relations sphere. This emergent trend has led to a growing body of scholarship that considers individual and comparative case studies across different jurisdictions. Focusing on Nigeria as a case study, this paper evaluates recent empirical evidence that shows an increase in external interactions by Nigeria's SNGs in the FDI sector since 1999. The paper argues that these external interactions by Nigeria's SNGs are a deviation from the conventional constitutional configuration of Nigeria's FRL setup wherein plenary powers for foreign relations have been allocated to the Federal Government (FG)

Optimising the Development options in TWCs: Looking beyond Foreign Aid

Growth development theorists such as Rowstow have averred that third world countries (TWCs) need foreign Aid to stimulate development and move them into the 'take-off stage' which is characterised by growth and development. However, after decades of aid inflow into TWCs, the majority of TWCs are still struggling to achieve their development objectives. Therefore, it is doubtful if aids alone can jumpstart development in TWCs. This reality has given rise to a plethora of alternate propositions aimed at realising the development objectives of TWCs. The central argument of this paper is that Aid alone cannot improve the status of TWCs. It is further argued in the paper that Aid needs to be complemented by stimulants (initiated within TWCs) such as Remittance, Taxation, and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) to solve their economic development problems. To this end, it is suggested that an approach which combines indigenous options with Aid will significantly advance the development objectives of TWCs

The Influx of Used Electronics into Africa : A Perilous Trend - Comment

The quantity of used electronics that is being discarded worldwide has reached crisis level. Alarming is the constituents of these items as well as the ways the generators of these items have dealt with them and are dealing with them. This essay aims to educate as regards the ruinous consequence of the present scheme of handling and management of used electronics in the world. To achieve the foregoing, the essay amongst other things, establishes the relationship between used electronics and e-waste; identifies the source of the seemingly unending deluge of used electronics in Africa as well as theorises in respect of the continuing movement that same is motivated by economic forces. The essay ends with a few postulations that are believed to be capable of stemming the tide of the influx of used electronics into Africa

The tax trade interface : an investigation of the influence of the Nigerian income tax incentives on taxpayer behaviour

The Companies Income Tax Act provides the architecture for corporate income taxation (CIT) in Nigeria. It specifies the rate, the tax base and contains the bulk of the incentives to which qualified corporate taxpayers are entitled. This thesis investigates the influence of incentives on the compliance behaviour of micro and small companies (MSCs) in Nigeria. By Nigeria’s standard, these are companies which: (1) employ between 1 to 49 persons and/or own assets (excluding land and building) valued at less than NGN 100million; or (2) are either private limited companies or one-man businesses. In the context of the Nigerian tax system, MSCs are corporate taxpayers with turnover of less than NGN 200 million. This choice of research population is a consequence of the globally acknowledged niche occupied by MSCs vis-à-vis the of the socio-economic objectives of any state. In the course of the study, the formulated research questions were resolved using a multi-stage mixed methods framework which allowed for the fusion of qualitative and quantitative epistemology as well as facilitated the introduction of pragmaticism into the research process. The thesis, inter alia, identified gaps in the administrative regime of CIT incentives in Nigeria and highlighted the fact that they have the potential to introduce uncertainty into the tax system. In addition, it revealed that the regulatory regime for the role and services of tax intermediaries within the tax system, in terms of current standards and reality, is sub-optimal. On the basis of a survey of a small sample of MSCs, it was concluded that the influence of tax intermediaries with regard to the compliance behaviour of MSCs was marginal. Reason for this was traced to the fact that the role and services of the latter vis-à-vis clients who are MSCs are actuated by variables which are within the psycho-social space of the tax intermediairies and the desires/requests of the MSC. This dismisses, in the context of Nigeria, the notion that the tax intermediary is the initator of every tax dodge. Based on the findings, the thesis, inter alia, recommended a re-orientation in the conceptualisation of tax compliance as the prevailing theoretical premise for the extant tax law and policy does not contemplate that non-economic factors and referents outside the realm of taxation are capable of influencing tax compliance behaviour. In addition, recommendations with the capacity to change the law, policy and administrative regime relating to CIT incentives as well as the role and services provided by tax intermediaries were made after an examination of the situation in Kenya and South Africa.Thesis (LLD)--University of Pretoria, 2019.Mercantile LawLLDUnrestricte