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VOL. 3, ISSUE 3 (2021)
Legislative imprudence and the difficulty in determining when a personal income taxpayer’s assessment is considered “final and conclusive” in Nigeria
Authors
Jirinwayo Jude Odinkonigbo
Abstract
No one enjoys paying tax–but the law compels people to fulfil this obligation in the higher interests of the public. In a constitutional democracy, such as Nigeria, no tax is imposed without a legislative support. It is the law that authorises the imposition and collection of taxes. It also defines the rights and liabilities of taxpayers and tax authorities. Therefore, clarity and avoidance of ambiguity in the law are essential elements of a good tax legislation. It is argued in this paper that legislative imprudence in the 2011 amendment of the Personal Income Tax Act (“PITA”), has complicated the legal determination of the term “final and conclusive” and its attendant contextual implications. This error must be fixed by another round of amendment to the principal legislation or through proactive judicial interpretation – at the risk of judges being accused of engaging in judicial legislation. The term “final and conclusive” is an important one in personal income tax administration and enforcement in Nigeria. The statutory definition of this term, which was part of the pre-2011 PITA, was omitted from the current law – with no equivalent replacement of it. This removal has created a lacuna in the law. As a result, the operational ambit of this term has been misconstrued to the extent that most taxpayers and lawyers think that the relevant time for calculation of penalties and interests associated with unpaid taxes could be shifted beyond the statutory due date – provided the administrative or judicial challenge processes are still open.
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Pages:44-48
How to cite this article:
Jirinwayo Jude Odinkonigbo "Legislative imprudence and the difficulty in determining when a personal income taxpayer’s assessment is considered “final and conclusive” in Nigeria ". International Journal of Law, Policy and Social Review, Vol 3, Issue 3, 2021, Pages 44-48
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