Fiscal Incentives and Tax Compliance Behaviour in Industrial Clusters: A Survey of Clusters in South-east Nigeria

• Published in: Journal of African business Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 147 - 166
• Main Authors: Nwokoye, Ebele Stella, Igbanugo, Clement Izuchukwu, Ekesiobi, Chukwunonso, Dimnwobi, Stephen Kelechi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Binghamton Routledge 02-01-2023; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Behavior; Clustering; Communication; Companies; Compliance; Educational attainment; Fiscal incentive; Incentives; industrial cluster; Legitimacy; Nigeria; Organizational performance; Polls & surveys; tax compliance; Tax incentives; Taxation; Nigeria
• ISSN: 1522-8916; 1522-9076
• DOI: 10.1080/15228916.2022.2031827

The study investigates the impact of fiscal incentives on the tax compliance behavior of firms in industrial clusters in Nigeria. Data from 800 firms drawn from three industrial clusters in South-East Nigeria were collected using a structured questionnaire through a multi-stage sampling procedure. Descriptive statistics and the logistic regression model were applied to estimate the survey responses. The major findings of the study show that regular tax audit, firm size, simplifying the communication on tax requirement, communicating deterrent messages, educational attainment of the firm owner and political legitimacy of the current government as well as fiscal incentives (tax credit, tax reduction, capital allowance, investment incentives) significantly influence the tax compliance behavior of firms in Nigeria's industrial clusters. Similarly, the study finds that fiscal incentives significantly enhance firm performance in Nigeria's industrial clusters. Implications and policy suggestions are presented for adoption by concerned stakeholders in the tax and industrial sectors.