ABSTRACT This study explores how small business owners in Africa talk about their tax responsibility, using Nigeria as a case study. Data were collated through interviews, focus group sessions, and online chats. The study identifies two main types of tax responsibility talks amongst these business owners: (1) duty-based and (2) right-based discourses. The duty-based talks see taxation primarily as the citizens’ responsibility to governments, which should always be fulfilled unconditionally, while right-based talks see taxation primarily as the government’s responsibility to citizens, which should be fulfilled first, in order for the government to earn the trust of citizens for higher tax compliance. Further analyses reveal that these talks are anchored on four common discursive themes – i.e. socioeconomic development, and legal, moral, and philanthropic themes, which business owners respond to in different ways. The paper argues that understanding these diverse responses will help tax regulators respond to taxpayers’ attitudes effectively.

中文翻译：

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非洲的企业税责任：尼日利亚的见解

摘要本研究以尼日利亚为例，探讨了非洲的小企业主如何谈论其纳税责任。通过访谈，焦点小组会议和在线聊天来整理数据。该研究确定了这些企业主之间的两种主要的税收责任谈判：（1）基于责任的演讲和（2）基于权利的演讲。基于职权的谈判主要将税收视为公民对政府的责任，应始终无条件履行；而基于权利的谈判将税收主要视为政府对公民的责任，应首先履行税赋，以使政府能够获得更高税收合规性的公民信任。进一步的分析表明，这些讨论以四个常见的话题为基础，即社会经济发展，法律，道德，和慈善主题，企业主以不同的方式回应。本文认为，理解这些不同的应对措施将有助于税收监管机构有效地应对纳税人的态度。