MANAGEMENT OF VALUE ADDED TAX AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF BENUE STATE, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

The study is on the Management of Value Added Tax and Economic Development of Benue State in Nigeria.  The study sets out to accomplish the following objectives: To examine the effect of VAT planning on the living standard of the  people, to evaluate the impact of VAT organizing on infrastructural development. Also to access the effect of VAT directing on youth’s employment generation, to determine the impact of VAT control on workers’ productivity. In this study, the following research questions are formulated: To what extent has VAT planning affected the living standard of the people?, How has VAT organizing impacted on the infrastructural development?, What is the effect of VAT directing on youth’s employment generation?, To what extent has VAT control impacted on workers’ productivity? To realize the objectives of the study, the following hypotheses are formulated: VAT planning has produced significant effect on the living standard of the people, There is a significant impact of VAT organizing on infrastructural development, VAT directing has given rise to youth’s employment generation, VAT control has produced significant impact on workers’ productivity.   A survey design was used for the study. The sample consisted of 48 management staff and 198 of supervisory staff of VAT offices in the three senatorial districts of the state.  To guide the study, four research questions were raised, while four hypotheses were formulated and tested.  A 50-item and 30-item questionnaire for management and supervisory staffs respectively were developed and validated as instruments for data collection.  The instruments have reliability coefficients of 0.64 and above 0.50.  The data collected were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, t-test and product moment correlation coefficient.  The study used simple random sampling techniques to select respondents from the population of 305 in three zones of the state. These respondents were interviewed; instrument for primary data collection and questionnaire structured in five point Likert scale.  The secondary data were sourced from other researchers, textbook, journals, newspapers and magazines.  The findings revealed that there is a significant positive effect of VAT planning on living standard, there is a significant impact of VAT organizing on the infrastructural development there is also a significant effect of VAT directing on employment generation and there is a substantial impact of VAT control on workers’ productivity. The researcher concluded that there is a high correlation between VAT revenue and economic development.  Since the principal aim of government for instituting VAT was to mobilize substantial revenue to promote economic development of the state, the recommendations made therefore are: VAT staff should emphasize on proper record keeping, monitoring and supervision, proper remittance of VAT revenue and removing loopholes in the implementation of VAT.