Abstract

International Journal of Research in Computer Application and Management,2011 Volume 1 Number 1 pp.11-18. The paper observes that Petroleum Profit Tax is a major source of revenue for the Federal Government of Nigeria to meet its statutory obligations of ensuring the economic development of Nigeria. It assists the government to achieve the country’s macroeconomic objective in the areas of fiscal and monetary policies.However,it has been observed that non-provision of corporate social responsibilities in the communities where there is extraction of crude oil result into constant destruction of production installations, and hindrance to production; tax avoidance and evasion poor tax administration, and weak fiscal policy have been negating the increase in tax income generated. The main objective of this paper is to assess the relationship between petroleum profit tax and economic development of Nigeria for the enhancement of the welfare of the citizens. Primary and secondary data were used to collect the research data, while chi-square and multiple regression statistical models were used to analyze the results of the field work. The findings reveal that there is a very strong relationship between petroleum profit tax and economic development of Nigeria, tax avoidance and evasion are major hindrance to income growth in this sector, poor tax administration is a problem to effectiveness and efficiency of this source of income, and lack of corporate social responsibilities is causing unrest in the crude oil production zone. The paper concludes with the need for the government to make judicious use of income generated for the benefits of Nigerians, and among others the need for tax reforms to address the issue of tax evasion and avoidance.