The Practice of Lessening Tax Burdens by Multinational Companies and its Effect on the Treatment of Petroleum Profit Tax: The Need for Forthrightness

Abstract

In spite of the government’s drive towards the diversification of the Nigerian economy, the Petroleum sector has remained the major source of revenue and a veritable tool for the establishment and sustenance of such a drive. However it’s being the number source of revenue, there appear to be several leakages in the tax net that occasion huge loss of revenue annually that require urgent attention and ensure optimal revenue generation from the sector. While some of these losses can be attributed to the inefficiency of taxing authorities and corrupt practices in the sector, this paper focused on specific methods adopted by Multinational Companies (MNCs) to reduce their tax liabilities. These methods though mostly legal, are made possible by duplicities of incentives in various legislations, loopholes, and lacunas in the law, as well as fiscal arrangements available to MNCs with their attendant negative effect on revenue generation. These methods include transfer pricing, tax avoidance and evasion, and fiscal arrangements in the petroleum sector. This paper also considered the salient innovations to be introduced in the sector when the Petroleum Industry Bill completes the legislative process for its passage into law and therefore recommended speedy and wholesome passage of the Bill into law being the only instrument available to curb such leakages, stimulate the sector and ensure efficiency in revenue generation.