DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS AND TAX COMPLIANCE IN YENAGOA, BAYELSA STATE

Abstract

This study examined the effects of demographic factors on tax compliance level in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state. The study is survey in nature and adopted the correlation and regression techniques to examine this influence. The adopted demographic factors are gender of taxpayers, income levels of taxpayers, educational levels and marital status. The correlational analysis showed that only marital status had negative association with tax compliance, although not significant, while income levels, educational levels and gender all had positive association with tax compliance. Also with the regression analysis, it was found that marital status has no significant influence on tax compliance, while the influences of income level, educational level and gender was found to be significantly positive. The study suggests that government tax policies should not prioritize marital status, as it is not significant. Instead, policies should focus on increasing income levels to improve tax compliance. Gender plays a positive role in tax compliance, so the government should focus on tax education for women. Lastly, the government should continue promoting education to increase tax compliance, as it benefits the people.