Noncompliance Opportunities and Tax Compliance Behavior in Nigeria: The Moderating Effect of Taxpayers' Financial Condition and Risk Preference

In Nigeria, like some other developing countries, income tax administration is characterized by noncompliance problem and this has been hindering tax revenue performance. Although a number of factors may be responsible for such phenomenon, the literature has suggested that the relationship between tax compliance behavior and its determinants may be moderated by other factors. In order to account for situational and environmental peculiarity of Nigeria, this study extends tax compliance model to incorporate moderating effects of taxpayers’ financial condition and risk preference. However, the study investigates the moderating effects of financial condition and risk preference on the relationship between noncompliance opportunity and tax compliance behavior. The study was conducted through a survey of individual taxpayers’ opinions and the data collected were statistically treated using multiple regression technique. The study reveals among others that the effects of financial condition and risk preference significantly moderated the influences of taxpayers’ source of income and occupation on tax compliance behavior. These findings pose some theoretical and policy implications.