IMPACT OF TAXATION OF DIGITAL ECONOMY ON TAX IMPLICATIONS FOR BUSINESSES OPERATING IN NIGERIA

Yusuf Alabi Olumoh, Abdullahi Taiwo Abdulrasheed, Mubaraq Sanni, Salaudeen Ibrahim, Shuaib Abdul-Hakeem Oluwole and Ramat Titilayo Salman
Volume 10 Issue 1

Abstract

The taxation of the digital economy is a dynamic and ongoing process, as governments and international organizations navigate the complexities of taxing digital transactions and inabilities in ensuring a level playing field for all businesses, and the issue of digital tax avoidance has emerged as a concern, despite efforts by various countries around the world by implementing some measures like digital services taxes to ensure that digital companies contribute their fair share of taxes. Based on these unending issues, the study therefore, the aims to examine the impact of taxation of digital economy on tax implications for businesses operating in Nigeria. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design and the population of the study consisted of 350 stakeholders in Nigeria, including employees of the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) and employees of the top 32 startups in Nigeria as of 2022. Random sampling technique was employed to quantitatively select a sample of 187 senior employees of both FIRS and startups businesses in Nigeria. The primary data obtained was analyzed using a Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) technique. This study found that taxation of digital economy has no significant impact on tax implications for business operating in Nigeria as shown by tvalues of 0.944 with p-value of 0.345 at 5% level of significance. The study concludes that taxation of digital economy has no influence in enhancing tax implications in Nigeria. The study recommends that governments should maintain their investment in capacity building and expertise development for tax authorities and practitioners working with digital companies, as this would enhance tax compliance and enforcement within the digital economy. Keywords: Taxation, Digital Economy, Tax Implications

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