Forensic Accounting, Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion in Nigeria – Review of Literatures and Matter for Policy Consideration

Abstract

Tax Fraud (TF) and Tax Evasion (TE) has become an alarming situation in most developing countries. It has become a focus of attention in recent times by scholars and policy makers because of its impact on the economy. In Nigeria, the recent worldwide economy downturn through COVID-19 pandemic and decrease in price of crude oil and sales quantity in the global market has contributed to difficulties in the implementation of annual budget. This called for a shift to tax revenues (TR) but the major challenge is the high rate of TF and TE. One way of reducing this menace and to instil Tax Compliance (TC) is the application of Forensic Accounting (FA) techniques. Therefore, this call for better understanding of the concepts and ways of using FA to promote TC. It is against this background that the study examined FA, TF and TE in Nigeria. The study adopts exploratory research design with literatures from materials on taxation and accounting. The study concluded that since the traditional auditing techniques has failed to curb TF and TE because of its inefficiency and ineffectiveness of operation, therefore FA will expose, control and deter fraudulent practices on TR, and this will enhance good TR for the government. The study recommends that government should develop interest in FA, enforce tax laws and regulations on TF and TE with strict appropriate punishment on tax evaders, ensure transparency and accountability on TR, and further create forensic unit in tax offices with modern FA techniques equipment.

SWOT Analysis of the Transition to Electronic Management of BPHTB System to Prevent Tax Fraud (Case Study at the Regional Revenue Office of Bondowoso Regency)

“…Tax fraud is a form of intentional tax avoidance and can be punishable under the prevailing laws and regulations [15]. Tax fraud involves actions taken by taxpayers to evade their financial obligations and includes acts that violate tax laws.…”

The Impact of State Internally Generated Revenues on Total State Revenues and Financial Viability: A Case Study of Lagos State, Nigeria

“…State revenue can be categorized into two: Externally (Statutory allocation and Value Added Tax (VAT)), and Internally Generated Revenues (IGR). Adekoya, Oyebamiji and Lawal [1]; BudgiT [2] reported that many states in Nigeria rely heavily on externally generated revenue for survival and Financial Viability (FV). This source contributes at least 75% of total revenues of many states and makes them over dependent on statutory allocation for survival and FV.…”

“…Many research had been conducted on IGR in public sector but with different focus of studies likes IGR and: transport infrastructures [5]; sustainable budget implementation [6], tax revenue and infrastructural development [7], tax evasion [8], tax administration [9], tax compliance (Isimoya, 2020); COVID-19 pandemic [1]; personal income tax [10], signage and advertisement [11,12], taxpayers identification number [13], with less emphasis on the impact of state IGR on TSR and FV. This study fills this gap by examining how state IGR can boost TSR and FV using Lagos state, Nigeria, as case study.…”

Internal Audit Values and Fraud Detection: An Empirical Analysis

“…Fraud is any illegal act, deceit or violation of trust by individual to gain undue advantage over others. Fraud is stealing by deceit and tricks, to cheat, or gain unjust or illegal advantage over another person [2]. In business environment, fraud is an intentional act, deception, misappropriation of company assets or window-dressing of financial statements to the advantage of the perpetrators [3,4].…”