NAVIGATING THE BURDEN: EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF MULTIPLE TAXATION AND ITS IMPACT ON SME SURVIVAL IN ADAMAWA STATE, NIGERIA
Denis Basila, PhD and Sani Alhaji Saidu, PhD
Volume 14 Issue 2
Abstract
This study examines the effect of multiple taxation on the survival of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Adamawa State, Nigeria, using a secondary data approach. SMEs play a critical role in employment generation and local economic development, yet their sustainability continues to be threatened by an increasingly complex and overlapping tax structure imposed by different tiers of government. The study adopts an ex-post facto research design and relies on secondary data derived from relevant national and state-level sources, including SME performance indicators, inflation data, credit access indices, and tax burden proxies. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression was employed to analyze the relationship between multiple taxation and SME survival over the period under review. The results reveal that multiple taxation has a significant negative effect on SME survival, indicating that increases in tax burden reduce the ability of small businesses to remain operational and grow. Inflation also exerts a negative influence, while access to credit shows a positive and statistically significant effect on SME sustainability. The model explains a high proportion of variation in SME survival, suggesting strong explanatory power of the selected variables. The study concludes that multiple taxation represents a structural constraint to SME development in Adamawa State. It recommends tax harmonization across government levels, improved access to credit facilities, and the introduction of SME-friendly fiscal policies aimed at reducing the burden of taxation while enhancing business resilience and long-term sustainability. Keywords: Multiple Taxation, SMEs, Business Survival, Tax Burden, Adamawa State
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