Nigerian Tax Research Network (NTRN)
Discover the NTRN Library here: www.eldis.org/ntrn
The NTRN is dedicated to enhancing the generation and exchange of tax knowledge in Nigeria. It is concerned with all topics related to taxation, ranging from tax policy to tax administration, and from academic papers to practical case studies. Stakeholders include tax practitioners and researchers from Nigerian and international institutions, as well as donors and civil society organisation working on tax issues in Nigerian.
The main objectives of the NTRN are to:
- Provide a platform for knowledge exchange and evidence-based debate on tax issues, through workshops, conferences, and publications.
- Support the production of high-quality, policy-relevant research, especially that led and undertaken by Nigerian researchers, by providing funding and capacity development.
- Facilitate coordination and complementarity between existing projects and actors active in the area of taxation in Nigeria.
The NTRN is funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and coordinated by the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) in collaboration with the Federal Inland Revenue Service.
The Chair of the NTRN is Mrs Ifueko M. Omoigui Okauru. The Research Coordinator is Dr Olly Owen and the Network Coordinator is Michael Falade.
The NTRN was formally launched on 12-14th of September 2017 at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja. The ICTD has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Federal Inland Revenue Service, which includes cooperation on the NTRN.
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News and Events:

Two new members have recently been appointed to the advisory board of the ICTD’s Nigerian Tax Research Network (NTRN). Ms Amina Ado and Dr Oyebola Okunogbe, who bring specialised expertise to the table, have joined Mrs Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru, MFR, the Chair of the advisory board, and members Dr Nonso Obikili, Dr Francisca Nlerum, Mr Mustapha…
Publications:
Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of poverty and inequality reduction through redistribution have indeed become critical concerns in many low- and middle-income countries, including Nigeria. Although redistribution results from the effect of tax revenue collections, micro household-level empirical analyses of the distributional effect of personal income tax (PIT) and value added tax (VAT) reforms…
Fuel subsidies in Nigeria are enormous – around USD 3.9 billion – almost double the health budget. Such subsidies come at great cost: the opportunity costs of such spending on other development objectives are large; the distribution of resources to the state governments is reduced; the vast majority of the subsidy goes to better off Nigerians; and…
Economic development is linked with increased state capacity including the ability to mobilise domestic tax resources. For many developing countries, high levels of informality are a major constraint in this regard. Yet, economic incentives like changing the tax rate or increasing the filling and audit rate can be ineffective in a highly informal economic structure….
Nigeria is faced with substantial economic and health burdens caused by tobacco smoking. The economic burden of smoking accounts for approximately 1.3 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP. In terms of its health impact, 4.9 per cent of all deaths in 2019 were attributed to smoking related diseases. The thousands of Nigerians that die annually from…
An important part of every country’s development process is the building of a social contract in which citizens pay tax and, in turn, receive public goods and services. Evidence suggests that this is associated with the establishment of a norm of tax payment and a belief that non-payment is wrong. We exploit a new, nationally…
The importance of tenure security for development and wellbeing is often reduced to questions about how titles can guarantee rights, overlooking the contested and layered nature of property rights themselves. We use the case of Lagos to analyse property rights as ‘analogue’ rather than ‘digital’ in nature – things that only exist by degree, where…
The advent of digitalised business models has considerable potential to improve trade in Africa, however, it has greatly exacerbated the two central challenges of international tax. The first challenge is the definition of taxable presence, and the second is the allocation of business profits of multinational enterprises (MNEs) among the different jurisdictions where they operate….
Fuel subsidies in Nigeria are enormous. At last estimate, the state subsidises gasoline to the tune of USD 3.9 billion — almost double the entire health budget. Subsidies exist because the government fixes the price of gasoline for consumers below the international price and uses government resources to pay for the difference. They were first…
This study explores how small business owners talk about their tax responsibility, especially in non-enabling institutional contexts. It identifies two main types of tax responsibility discourses amongst these business owners: (1) duty-based and (2) rights-based. The duty-based talks see taxation primarily as the citizens’ responsibility to governments, which should always be fulfilled unconditionally, while rights-based…
Fuel subsidies in Nigeria are enormous. At last estimate, the state subsidises petrol to the tune of US$3.9 billion – almost double the entire health budget. Such subsidies come at great cost: the opportunity costs of such spending on other development objectives are large; the distribution of resources to the state governments is reduced; the…
Blogs:
Borno State, in north-eastern Nigeria, has faced intractable security challenges in the last decade that has led to the destruction of businesses, livelihoods, property and public infrastructure. As a result, real estate in the capital of Maiduguri and other peaceful areas has seen an increase in demand. Normally, a real estate boom would lead to increased…
Across Nigeria, a journey through rural communities and interaction with community members will expose you to the prevalence of self-financed and managed community development projects. The benefits of those projects completed through informal taxation to the people of Nigeria cannot be overemphasised, though many scholars and tax administrators are not aware or pay little attention…
As the G20 Environment Ministers meet today, one of the key issues they need to consider is whether to get serious about fossil fuel subsidy reform. As a report published on June 19 by Bloomberg NEF and Bloomberg Philantropies points out, the G20 countries have provided more than $3.3tn (£2.4tn) in subsidies for fossil fuels…
Research Projects:
In this project, we aim to investigate the role ethnicity plays in shaping attitudes toward taxation and the state. In particular, does ethnicity or other vendor-specific attributes attenuate (or reinforce) the effect of improved information on formal tax compliance and pro-tax attitudes? The proposed qualitative research builds upon and is informed by novel findings that…
This study seeks to contribute to the scant literature on the impact of prices on smoking onset and cessation in LMICs by investigating the following research questions, with a focus on Nigeria: What is the impact of cigarette prices on smoking onset? What is the impact of cigarette prices on smoking cessation? The study is…
How do government actions toward the poor influence other citizens’ perceptions of the government? Does making citizens aware of forced evictions – used by the government in the name of development – reduce their willingness to invest in the capacity of the government by paying taxes? We seek to build upon our 2018 pilot survey…
The proposed research will answer three research questions: (1) Do regions that have historically received more tax revenue have better tax morale? (2) What type of tax allocation in the form of public service provision increases tax morale? (3) Can oil producing regions turn the use of revenue from the 13% fund into higher tax…
Domestic revenue mobilization is a priority for many SSA countries. Yet, low tax compliance constitutes a major challenge to this drive. Improving tax compliance will require an understanding of the underlying factors influencing a taxpayer’s decision to either pay taxes or not. However, little is known about tax compliance behaviour in most SSA countries; insights…
One of the foremost challenges to state-building in weak states is the collection of sufficient revenue for the government to supply public goods. If weak states seek to expand the size of their tax base and the overall revenue collected, can improved information or other appeals boost pro-tax attitudes and formal tax compliance? This project…
This project aims to understand what Nigerians think about fuel subsidies and their attitudes towards their reform, reduction or removal. It will draw on a new nationally representative survey of perceptions about taxes and subsidies in Nigeria. The analysis will show the characteristics associated with support for and opposition to subsidy reform. It will then…
This project examines how technology and third party information can be harnessed to promote tax compliance in the context of an amnesty program. Nigeria’s ongoing amnesty program, the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) is a time-limited opportunity for taxpayers to declare their previously undeclared assets and income for tax purposes. To avoid moral…
The recent crash in oil prices and subsequent economic crisis has highlighted the grave consequences that are associated with Nigeria’s heavy dependence on oil revenue and its low tax base. While this pattern is well known for the country, there is limited evidence on the state-by-state variation in oil dependence and economic outcomes. This study…
Nigerian tax-to-GDP ratio has been deteriorating from 7% in 2013 to 6% in 2017, which is far below the generally acceptable threshold of 15%; possibly due to lack of filing tax return by over 65% of the registered taxpayers. Hence, e-tax filling was introduced to improve tax administration efficiency. Notwithstanding, Nigerian tax system remains the…