CORPORATE BOARD ATTRIBUTES AND TAX AGGRESSIVENESS AMONG LISTED OIL AND GAS FIRMS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined the effect of board attributes on the tax aggressiveness of listed oil and gas companies in Nigeria for the period of 2011-2020.The sample size of the study is the entire 13oil and gas firm listed in Nigeria exchange. The study used unbalance panel which include companies that has been delisted and those that were listed after the period of the study. Secondary data were used, extracted from the financial reports and accounts of the companies that made the sample of the study. The study employed test multicollinearity test, Heseteroskedasticity Normality test Generalized Least Square Random Effect, as the best estimator of the regression model. The study revealed that gender diversity and board financial expertise have significant negative impact on the Effective Tax Rate (ETR) of oil and gas firms in Nigeria. This implies that gender diversity and board financial expertise reduce ETR and encourage tax aggressiveness of the sampled firms.  The study recommends that, Shareholders of listed oil and gas firms in Nigeria should appoint more women as board members to take advantage of their advisory role in reducing tax since the findings of the study shows that board gender diversity enhances tax aggressiveness. Also, the study recommends that the board should nominate more members with accounting and finance background to the board who can contributes towards tax aggressiveness. Doing this will reduce firm tax liability.