Abstract:
This study is prompted by the meager federal revenue receivable by Enugu State as a result of its low position on the scale of
federal revenue allocation among states in Nigeria. Consequently,
the state has to rely on internally generated revenue for its
projects. To boost this internal revenue generation, the present
structure in the state Board of Internal Revenue in relation to
income tax of self-employed was critically analyzed to ascertain its
effectiveness or otherwise in harnessing the abundant revenue in
the sector. A survey research design was adopted for the study.
Data were collected from both primary and secondary sources by
means of questionnaire and personal interviews. The data
collected were analyzed and presented using frequency and
percentage tables while the hypotheses were tested using chisquare
method. Findings from the study include the following: That
the self-employed are not making adequate contribution to the
internal revenue of the state, having contributed only 2.7% to the
income tax revenue of the state in the past ten years. That the
state Board of Internal Revenue is not effective in carrying its
functions in relation to income tax of self-employed probably
because it is lacking highly skilled staff, adequate data base of the
self-employed and equipment and other logistics. The following
main recommendations were made: That a special drive should be
undertaken to arouse public consciousness on tax obligations by
enlisting the co-operations of opinion leaders and traditional rulers
in the various communities and cities. That the Board of Internal
Revenue should be completely removed from the civil service
structure to give it greater autonomy and enable it operate with the
efficiency typical of a commercial outfit. That the tax enforcement
machinery should be strengthened and the level of deterrent
punishment made stricter. That the data base for tax
administration should be computerized. In conclusion, the
researcher advised the state Government to combat apathy, and
stimulate voluntary compliance by maintaining fiscal transparency
and accountability for it to achieve optimal collection of income tax
from self-employed.
