TAX AUDIT AND COMPANIES INCOME TAX COMPLIANCE IN NIGERIA: THE MODERATING ROLE OF TAX OFFICERS' EXPERTISE

Low tax revenue generation is still a major problem confronting Nigeria and the government has introduced several measures, such as tax audit, to confirm the accuracy of the self­ assessments. This study examined the effect of tax audit on companies' income tax compliance in Nigeria and the moderating role of tax officers' expertise. The population consists of304 staff in the tax audit department in the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria. The Taro Yamane formula was used to determine a sample size of 173. A structured questionnaire was used to gather primary data from respondents. Findings show that desk audit, field audit, and back duty audit have a positive and significant effect on companies' income tax compliance. When tax officers' expertise moderated the effect, the result shows that desk audit, field audit and back duty audit significantly moderate the effect of companies' income tax compliance in Nigeria. The study therefore recommended that FIRS should continue to prioritize desk audit due to its significant positive effect on companies' income tax compliance by investing in data analytical tools that would further enhance their effectiveness. Secondly, to further enhance the effectiveness of field audit, FIRS can use data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to identify high-risk taxpayers to detect non­ compliance trends