Capital Gains Tax in Nigeria
Term Paper written by Onipede Ibidunni Seun on Capital Gains Tax in Nigeria
Introduction
Discussing capital gain tax without first presenting a general overview of the entire concept of taxation will be tantamount to putting a cart before a horse. It is therefore very important that justice be done by explaining taxation and various types of taxes.
Taxation: A General overview
Tax and taxation has been variously defined by different authors. Oyegbile (1996) defines tax as a sum of money paid by citizens of a country, state or community to the government for public purpose. According to him taxation is one of the sources of income for government; such income is used to finance or run public utilities and perform other social responsibilities. This implies that anybody that generates income must compulsorily pay taxes. Sanni (2007) define tax in the following ways: * Tax is a “compulsory levy imposed on a subject or upon his property by the government having authority over him; * Tax is a universal contrivance; * Tax is the price of social security between the government and the governed; * Tax is the oxygen of every nation, a pre-condition for its prosperity; and * Tax is an instrument of social engineering
A thorough content analysis of the definitions reveals the following fundamentals about tax:
‘Tax is a social obligation; it is a civic responsibility and an important source of finance for the government’.
Generally, Taxation is of two types viz: Direct and indirect taxation.
Direct taxation: is the case where the person(s) paying is or are asked to pay for no particular service rendered or goods delivered but for the maintenance of government together with its services. Indirect taxation: is paid when one asks for services or supplies of goods.
There are different forms of taxation. But for the purpose of this work, taxes that will be discussed will be limited to taxes that pertain to property. Property taxation includes the
Introduction
Discussing capital gain tax without first presenting a general overview of the entire concept of taxation will be tantamount to putting a cart before a horse. It is therefore very important that justice be done by explaining taxation and various types of taxes.
Taxation: A General overview
Tax and taxation has been variously defined by different authors. Oyegbile (1996) defines tax as a sum of money paid by citizens of a country, state or community to the government for public purpose. According to him taxation is one of the sources of income for government; such income is used to finance or run public utilities and perform other social responsibilities. This implies that anybody that generates income must compulsorily pay taxes. Sanni (2007) define tax in the following ways: * Tax is a “compulsory levy imposed on a subject or upon his property by the government having authority over him; * Tax is a universal contrivance; * Tax is the price of social security between the government and the governed; * Tax is the oxygen of every nation, a pre-condition for its prosperity; and * Tax is an instrument of social engineering
A thorough content analysis of the definitions reveals the following fundamentals about tax:
‘Tax is a social obligation; it is a civic responsibility and an important source of finance for the government’.
Generally, Taxation is of two types viz: Direct and indirect taxation.
Direct taxation: is the case where the person(s) paying is or are asked to pay for no particular service rendered or goods delivered but for the maintenance of government together with its services. Indirect taxation: is paid when one asks for services or supplies of goods.
There are different forms of taxation. But for the purpose of this work, taxes that will be discussed will be limited to taxes that pertain to property. Property taxation includes the