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European Journal of Social Sciences - Volume 2, Number 1 (2006) At the time of this praetorian threat of carnage and murder, income tax (poll tax) in the state had risen from #1.17.6d to #3 including a state development fund of 7s.6d. In addition, the agitators were expected to pay 10 shillings national reconstruction fund, an average of 30 shillings water rate, all adding to #9 (Nine pounds) in certain parts of the state. The military governor, Brigadier Adebayo, was forced to succumb to some of their demands. He immediately announced a cut of five shillings from every item under taxation and also warned civil servants in the state "not to make the people pay for services which are not yet available." There is the problem of perception. Many citizens believe that governance is about sharing rather than mobilizing resources. They expect government to provide all social services and facilities free of charge. The era of oil boom in Nigeria strengthened this idea that government have enough resources to provide free services and cater for government's expenditure. Thus, taxes and rates are seen as unnecessary burdens from government. Poor sharing of national resources and bad fiscal policy also constitute potential sources of conflict. This is the case of the oil producing areas in Nigeria (especially the Ogonis) that are aggrieved over the sharing and distribution of mineral resources extracted from their land. Inter-governmental transfers of fiscal resources among the various levels of government and jurisdictional tax powers constitute another problem in governance. In summary, governance, taxation, fiscal policy and conflict are interrelated. A poor management of one constitutes a potential source of crisis. The dynamics of their interrelationship is the pre-occupation of this paper. Research problem Fiscal policy remains one of the greatest threats to political stability in Nigeria. Fiscal policy and taxation are central issues in Nigeria’s governance arena since 1914. In the first instance, one of the principal reasons why the Northern and the Southern Protectorates were amalgamated was to make up from the fiscal surplus of the south for the rather perpetual fiscal deficit of the north. Peter Ekeh (1997:40) explained, "Frugal British administration were not pleased that although Southern Nigeria could pay for its own administration, Northern Nigeria's administrative costs were subsidized from London. It was for the sake of achieving economic balance that the amalgamation of the two separate colonies of Southern and Northern Nigeria was effected in 1914". The colonial architects of Nigeria laid the foundation on fiscal convenience, rather than on mutual trust, cultural and historical affinity. To Ogundowole (1994:ix), The amalgamation of the peoples of Nigeria into a federation devoid of nationality formations is in itself denationalization par excellence, i.e. taking away the very souls of the peoples of the nationalities that constitute Nigeria, while the federation represents nothing more than the amalgamation of the lifeless ghosts of the nationalities. Okoth-Ogendo (1996:53) corroborates this point, "the state in Africa at independence was not a constitutional state", but a constituted state; "one erected on pillars that were not fashioned out of past experiences or future aspirations"; and argues that "as constituted, the machinery of the state was not part of the shared experience of the African people." Since Nigeria’s foundation was laid on fiscal considerations, any thing that touches on fiscal issues becomes very crucial to its existence. This explains why Nigeria’s fiscal policy has received more attention and public debate than any federal problems since Independence. Other federal matters (such as the creation of states and local governments, federal character, population, census, boundaries, intergovernmental relations, constitutional jurisdictions, inter-group relations, ethnicity, elections etc) revolve around this. The federal system which was adopted in 1954 gave birth to acrimony, inter-ethnic and inter-group conflicts. A civil war was fought from 1967 to 1970 around the subject of what should constitute an acceptable social, political and economic order. The incursion of the military into Nigerian politics since 1966 did not help matter. Successive military administrations have aggravated the failures of the Nigerian state rather than address them. The military has ruled the country for more than three decades out of forty-two years of independence in 1960. Under military regimes, federal government arrogated to itself "extraordinary powers which 126
International Research Journal of Finance and Economics – Volume 2, Number I (2006) do not constitutionally belong to it". (Ekeh, 1997:7). These include "the seizure of funds and appropriation of assets that should belong to local governments, states, and corporate institutions established by the constitution and legislative provisions." (ibid:7). It is against this background the paper discusses the problems associated with governance, taxation and fiscal policies in Nigeria. Objectives of the study The overall objective of this study is to examine and document some of the most successful strategies for tackling the problems associated with taxation and fiscal policies in Nigeria. Specifically, the study sets out to: i. examine the role of taxation and fiscal policy in Nigerian governance; ii. determine the extent the fiscal crisis has affected the Nigeria's federation; iii. examine and document the strategies employed in tackling one and two above; iv. proffer solutions on how to mitigate the problems of fiscal crisis and taxation on governance in Nigeria, and highlight policy challenges for the next millennium Theoretical and intellectual discourse The subject of taxation has received considerable intellectual and theoretical attention in literature. Taxation is one of the most volatile subjects in governance both in developing and developed countries. It is, therefore, no surprise that some of the most familiar quotations in history have been comments by famous men about taxes (Pechman, 1985:1). Benjamin Franklin once remarked, "in this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes." (ibid:1). Chief Justice John Marshall in the United States of America was quoted as saying: "the power to tax involves the power to destroy." The above quotations show clearly the volatility of taxation. Tax and taxation are used synonymously in this paper. Tax refers to a "compulsory levy by a public authority for which nothing is received directly in return." (James and Nobes, 1992:266). To Kath Nightingale (2001) “a tax is compulsory contribution, imposed by government, and while tax payers may receive nothing identifiable in return for their contribution, they nevertheless have the benefit of living in a relatively educated, healthy and safe society.” Nightingale explains that taxation is “part of the price to be paid for an organized society.” She identified six reasons for taxation: provision of public goods, redistribution of income and wealth, promotion of social and economic welfare, economic stability, harmonization and regulation. Fiscal policy refers to "government's use of taxation and public expenditure to influence the aggregate level of economic activity." (James and Nobes, 1992:266). According to Jhingan (1996:348) fiscal policy means "the use of taxation, public borrowing, and public expenditure by government for purposes of 'stabilization' or 'development'." Fiscal policy also involves government's measures to control and monitor public finance with a view of achieving some economic goals. The role of fiscal policy varies significantly within various economies. For instance, the role of fiscal policy in advanced economies is to stabilise the rate of growth, whereas in "the context of an underdeveloped economy, the role of fiscal policy is to accelerate the rate of capital formation." (ibid:348). Jhingan adds, "fiscal policy plays a dynamic role in underdeveloped countries" - as its extensive use is indispensable for economic development. The objectives of fiscal policy are to (i) increase the rate of investment; (ii) encourage socially optimal investment; (iii) increase employment opportunities; (iv) promote economic stability in the face of international instability; (v) counteract inflation; and (vi) increase and redistribute national income. (Jhingan, 1996) The objectives of fiscal policy are quite laudable and are capable of yielding tremendous results if judiciously pursued by any government, but feasible in a stable political arena. The absence of political stability in Nigeria since independence in 1960 has contributed to its inability to embark on fiscal policies that could lead to economic development. Joseph Schumpeter (1996) addresses the crisis of the tax state. He argues that "the fiscal history 127
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