Corporate Governance Attributes and Tax Aggressiveness of Listed Non-financial Firms in Nigeria

The objective of this study is to investigate the nexus between corporate governance attributes and tax aggressiveness in listed non-financial firms in Nigeria. Using an ex-post facto research design, a sample of 80 companies for a period of 12 years (2008-2019) was selected from a target population of 114 listed non-financial services firms. Tax aggressiveness (TAG) was measured using the cash flow effective tax rate. Corporate governance was measured by board size (BSIZE), board independence (BIND), board gender diversity (BGDIV), audit committee effectiveness (ACEF), institutional ownership (INOWN), ownership concentration (OWNCO) and risk committee (RSKM). The Generalised Method of Moment (GMM) technique was used to analyse the data. The findings showed that RSKM and INOWN have significant and positive effects on tax aggressiveness; BGDIV, BIND, BSIZE and ACEF also have significant, but negative effects on tax aggressiveness; while OWNCO has an insignificant, but positive effect on tax aggressiveness. The study, therefore, concludes that corporate governance attributes largely have significant effects on the corporate tax aggressiveness of listed non-financial firms in Nigeria.