EVALUATION OF PERSONAL INCOME TAX ADMINISTRATION AND THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
 
1.1   BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Every Society in whatever form will comprise the ruling and the authority and the ruled subjects. As social contract term the ruler is expected to perform some roles; be it administrative, social, economic, political, cultural or religious. In return, the ruled subjects that enjoy the benefits from these roles performed are to give something for keeping the machinery working. This could be in cash or in kind. 'In light of the above, every constituted human society, whether primitive or modem, has one form of levy or the other. This necessitates tax and taxation. A historical review of man and society reveals that tax exists as a major source of revenue for government.
Tax payment, according to Nightingale (1998), "is the part of the price to be paid for living in an organized and orderly society, for if this is not done, the miscreants produced through the inequality in the system will be a source of constant irritation to the well-being of those who have." A system of tax- will vary (even if slightly) from one 'country to the other because it is a socio­political and economic' model representing society's social, political and economic needs and aspiration at arty given time. Because of this, Nigerian tax system is dynamic and is continually changing to meet the needs of the constituents of the society.
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or business (corporations or other legal entities). Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive, when the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate tax, income tax, or profit tax. Individual income taxes often tax the total income of the individual (with some deductions permitted), while corporate income taxes often tax net income (the difference between gross receipts, expenses, and additional write-offs). Various systems 'define income differently, and often allow notional reductions of income (such as a reduction based on number of children supported).
According to Lekan and Sunday (2006) "Personal Income Tax is a tax imposed with income as its base." This income is as received by some chargeable people. Agbetunde (2004) states that "It is not everybody that falls under the coverage of this tax but certain sets of people called taxable persons." The discussion on the administration of income tax is incomplete without due consideration of the socio-economic development of Ikeja Local Government Area of Lagos State.
In light of the above, the revenue generated through taxation in Ikeja Local Government of the state has been channeled to various areas such as road construction and rehabilitation, transportation, traffic management, environmental beautification, waste management, flood control, physical planning and flood upgrading, education, job creation, health, economic planning, commerce and industry, housing, etc. most feasible in Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Obafemi Awolowo Road, Oba Akran Road, Airport –Road etc,
The economic impact of personal income tax administration in Ikeja cannot be over-emphasized. It is seen in the system of transportation in that, roads have enormous impact on the standard of living of the people in so many ways. It is also noticeable in the environment to general, because of the determination to have a sustainable environment and this has prompted an aggressive promotion of a culture of 'Greening Ikeja Local Government. '
The success 9f this landscaping and beautification exercise is self-evident in many outer and inner areas and major roads as stated earlier.
In the course of this study, effort shall be made to discuss extensively on the economic importance of personal income tax administration in Lagos State, and Ikeja Local Government in particular.