AN APPRAISAL OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE TAXATION OF COMPANIES INCOME IN NIGERIA

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
TABLE OF STATUTES
TABLE OF CASES
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT

CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1.1       BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
1.2       LITERATURE REVIEW
1.3       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
1.4       OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH
1.6       SCOPE OF RESEARCH
1.7       RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
1.7       JUSTIFICATION OF THE RESEARCH
1.8       ORGANIZATIONAL LAYOUT

CHAPTER TWO
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF CORPORATE TAX LAW IN NIGERIA
2.1       INTRODUCTION
2.2       HISTORY OF CORPORATE TAX LAW IN NIGERIA
2.2.1    THE PERIOD OF TAX CONSCIOUSNESS
2.2.2    THE PERIOD OF FISCAL MEASURE
2.2.3    THE PERIOD OF FISCAL CENSURE
2.2.5    THE PERIOD OF TAX AS INSTRUMENT OF SOCIAL REFORM
2.3       THE CURRENT APPLICABLE LAWS TO CORPORATE TAXATION IN NIGERIA
2.4       NATIONAL TAX POLICY AND CORPORATE TAXATION IN NIGERIA
2.4.1    MEANING OF NATIONAL TAX POLICY

CHAPTER THREE
THE BASIC CONCEPTS OF CORPORATE TAX LAWS AND TAXING JURISDICTIONS IN NIGERIA
3.1       INTRODUCTION
3.2       THE BASIC CONCEPT AND RATIONAL FOR CORPORATION TAX
3.2.1    INTRODUCTION
3.3       RATIONALE FOR CORPORATION TAX
3.4       DEFINING A COMPANY FOR TAX PURPOSE
3.5       CATEGORIES OF COMPANIES
3.6       DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF CORPORATE TAXATION IN NIGERIA
3.7       TAX ON PROFITS OR TURNOVER OF COMPANIES
3.8       EXERCISE OF TAXING JURISDICTION
3.8.1    STATUS JURISDICTION
3.8.2.   BUSINESS JURISDICTION

CHAPTER FOUR
CHARGEABLE INCOMES OF COMPANIES
4.1       INTRODUCTION
4.1.0    LAW AND REVENUE PRACTICE
4.1.1    RULE OF CONVENIENCE
4.1.2    RULE OF CONCESSION
4.2       MEANING OF INCOME
4.2.1    RECURRENT QUALITY TEST
4.2.2    ORDINARY COURSE OF BUSINESS TEST
4.2.3    DESIGNATED SOURCE TEST
4.2.4    PRACTICAL APPROACH
4.3       IMPOSITION OF TAX
4.3.1    RENT AND PREMIUM
4.3.2    DIVIDEND AND ANNUITY
4.3.3    SECURITY
4.4       ASSESSMENT
4.4.1    ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENT
4.4.2    CURRENCY OF ASSESSMENT
4.5       RATES OF TAX AND LEGISLATIVE EQUIVALENCY DOCTRINE

CHAPTER FIVE
MODALITIES FOR THE TAXATION OF CORPORATE BODIES IN NIGERIA
5. 1      INTRODUCTION
5. 2      MODALITIES
5 . 3     SOURCE OF ACCRUAL BASIS AND BASIS OF LIABILITY TO NIGER IAN TAXATION
5.4       TYPES OF INCOME ASSESSABLE TO TAX
5.4.1    TRADE PROFITS
5.4.2    INVESTMENT INCOME
5.4.3    INTEREST
5.4.4    DEDUCTION OF TAX FROM INTEREST AND RENTS
5.4.5    ALLOWANCES, DUE AND FEES
5.5       INCOME EXEMPTED FROM TAXATION
5.6       CONDITIONS TO QUALIFY FOR PIONEER STATUS
5 . 6 . 1 PIONEER CERTIFICATE
5.6.2    OPERATIONS OF PIONEER COMPANIES
5 . 6 . 3 COMMENCEMENT OF BUS INESS OR TRADE BY PIONEER COMPANIES
5.6.4    POWERS OF F.B.I.R. IN RESPECT OF PIONEER COMPANIES
5.6. 5   RESTR ICTIONS OF PIONEER COMPANY
5.7       COMPUTATION OF TOTAL PROFITS OF A COMPANY
5.7.1    COMMENCEMENT OF A TRADE OR BUSINESS
5.7.2    CESSATION/TERMINATION OF TRADE OR BUSINESS
5.7.3    PAYMENT RECEIVED AFTER THE TERMINATION OF BUSINESS  OR TRADE
5.7.4   TRANSFER OR SALE OF BUSINESS OR TRADE
5.7.5    TAKEOVER, MERGER, TRANSFER OR RESTRUCTURING OF BUSINESS
5.7.6    THE BASIC RULES FOR CALCULATING A COMPANY'S PROFITS
5.7.7    WHERE THERE IS NO ASSESSABLE PROFITS
5.7.8    DEDUCTIONS ALLOWED IN COMPUTING PROFITS OF A COMPANY
5.7.9   DISALLOWABLE DEDUCTION FROM PROFIT
5.8       OTHER CATEGORIES OF DEDUCTIONS ALLOWED FROM PROFITS
5.9   LOSSES DEDUCTIBLE FROM INCOME FOR TAX PURPOSES
5.10     CAPITAL ALLOWANCES AS DEDUCTIBLE FROM INCOME FOR TAX PURPOSES
5.11     TAXATION OF DORMANT COMPANIES
5.12     TAXATION OF DIVIDENDS

CHAPTER SIX: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
6.1       SUMMARY
6.2       FINDINGS
6.3       RECOMMENDATIONS
            BIBLIOGRAPHY


ABSTRACT
The current wave of globalization and technological revolution has had a tremendous effect on companies‟ income tax in Nigeria. For instance, the e-commerce which is a relatively new technology epitomizes boundary, whereas the companies income tax law upholds the concepts of residence, fixed base and permanent establishment. Nigerian tax administration is ill-equipped to cope with these emerging tax problems. The old standard of corporation tax, the manual assessment and enforcement procedures cannot meet up with the fast- changing commercial activities of the companies. This consequently creates administrative ineptitude which to a large extent adversely affects revenue generation in Nigeria. There is therefore the need to probe into how the developments have affected our domestic Companies Income Tax Act. This thesisalso attempts to highlight grey areas in corporation tax system in Nigeria which affects revenue generation. Some of these areas of potential problems are: the problems of assessment and enforcement of corporate taxes, the negative effect of globalization on corporation taxes; the legality or otherwise of operating unincorporated treaties and Double Taxation Arrangement and finally the complication of enforcement and administration of corporation tax laws.This thesis entitled “An Appraisal of the Legal Framework For the Taxation of Companies Income in Nigeria” aims at critically examining the various laws and principles relating to the taxation of companies in Nigeria. Accordingly, the objectives of the study is with a view to measuring the adequacies or inadequacies of the said laws and principles, which if frontally addressed, their menace to corporate tax laws and consequently to revenue generation will be drastically reduced to the barest minimum. This research has adopted the doctrinal method which includes tax laws, various textbooks, treaties, case laws and articles drawn from relevant sources of this research topic. In the course of this research, it has been found amongst others that there are complexities in respect of the tax statutes, poor implementation and application of international corporate double taxation treaties in Nigeria, misinterpretation of corporate tax terms like “accruing in” “ brought in” or “derived from” and lack of enforcement skills in the assessment, collection of corporate taxes by tax administrators.The research concludes that unless there is a wholistic overhaul and/or introduction of a co-ordinated platform for the administration of corporate tax laws in Nigeria corporate revenue generation will continue to pose serious challenges in Nigeria.



CHAPTER ONE: GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Taxation is a vital element in any country‟s economy. It is the source for funding
important necessities such as education, health, care, securities and the million other things
that are necessary to the running of the country1. Taxes are the major source of government

revenue for funding its activities such as financing of budget and government development

plan.Government being a nonprofit making organization needs to generate revenue from

taxes   and    other    tax   related    sources.    Fiscal     Consideration    is    paramount    in    shaping

development policies of a given economy either at micro or Marco level. In his remark, Felix

Frankfurter2 states the significance of tax thus:

Taxation has always been the sensitive nerve of government. The enormous increase in the cost of society and the extent to which wealth is represented by intangibles, are putting public finance to its severest tests. To balance budgets, to pay for the cost of progressively civilized social standards, to safeguard the future and to divide these burdens with substantial fairness to the different interests in the community, strains to the utmost ingenuity of statesmen.


Nigeria as a developing economy has many taxes through which sufficient revenue can be

generated to meet government expenditure3.  Some of these taxes include companies‟ income

tax and petroleum profit tax among others4.  These taxes are capable of generating sufficient

revenue to finance government activities if they are effectively administered and enforced.

However, there is no gainsaying that despite the fact that Nigeria has many companies and

other  taxable  persons  from  whom  revenue  can  be  generated,  government  is  repeatedly.....

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