Corporate Tax Aggressiveness and Firm Performance: Evidence from Consumer Goods Firms in Nigeria

This study investigates corporate tax aggressiveness and firm performance of consumer goods firms in Nigeria from 2012 to 2023. The issue arises as firms often accuse tax authorities of excessive taxation that reduces profitability, while government complains of low tax revenue, suggesting possible aggressive tax practices. An ex-post-facto research design was adopted, using data extracted from the annual reports of 17 firms. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied, and after conducting diagnostic tests, a Fixed Effect Robust Regression model was employed for analysis. The findings show that Effective Tax Rate (ETR) and Cash Effective Tax Rate (CETR) exert non-significant negative effects on Return on Assets (ROA), The study recommends that tax authorities investigate corporate tax returns to ascertain the true position of firms’ tax compliance and impose stricter measures, including fines and legal actions, to discourage aggressive practices.