An Appraisal of the Legal Framework for Taxation in Nigeria

“(Tax) is the one great power upon Which the whole national fabric is based. It is as necessary to the existence and prosperity of a nation as is the air he breathes to the natural man. It is not only the power to destroy; it is also the power to keep alive”.1 It is arguable that tax is the price or consideration of the social contract between the government and the governed in modern democracies. There is hardly any government today that does not rely on tax measures to provide the much needed revenue for socio-economic development and amelioration of inequalities of wealth in society. This paper examines the legal regime put in place for the actualization of tax administration in Nigeria. To begin it is apt that we turn to the historical antecedents of taxation in Nigeria