A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF TAX OFFENCES, ENFORCEMENT MECHANISMS, AND PROSECUTION UNDER NIGERIA’S EMERGING TAX REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

Abstract

Tax crimes and their prosecution are an endemic challenge of contemporary fiscal governance in Nigeria. This paper is addressed to the legal academy, policymakers, tax administrators and financial regulators and stakeholders generally, for the purpose of assessing how developments in tax laws in recent years redirect the topography of compliance, enforcement, and accountability. The aim is to establish the extent of the new offences, the procedural protections in prosecution, and the sufficiency of penalties as a deterrent to evasion and fraud. The research uses the doctrinal legal research style, analyzing the statute, judicial interpretation and conflicting ideas to bring out the legal consequences of the developmental stage of Nigerian Tax system. The core argument of the paper is that while new tax laws expanded the ambit of offences and different procedural aspects of prosecution, there remain structural vacuum in enforcement with judicial delays diluting deterrence. The paper recommends that the adoption of a moderating policy between enforcement and procedural fairness is critical to ensuring a sustainable tax compliance culture in the country’s tax system.