Abstract

The study examined the effect of direct taxation on economic growth of Nigeria. Specifically, the study aims to achieve the following objectives: to evaluate the effect of company income tax on gross domestic product of Nigeria, to examine the effect of capital gain tax on gross domestic product of Nigeria, to examine the effect of personal income tax on gross domestic product of Nigeria. The study adopted Ex-Post Facto research design and secondary sources of data collection was employed which was collected from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Statistical Bulletin, internet and journal publications for the period 1990-2019. The study found that company income tax has significant positive effect on gross domestic product of Nigeria, capital gain tax has no significant effect on gross domestic product of Nigeria, personal income tax has significant effect on gross domestic product of Nigeria. the following recommendation was made; since company income tax is a significant predictor of gross domestic product in Nigeria, the policies of company income tax should be reviewed to block the loopholes that encourage tax avoidance where most companies capitalize on to avoid tax, The administration and collection mechanisms of capital gains tax should be strengthened to ensure the tracking and collection of this form of tax in any part of the country where capital assets are disposed, an effective and reliable database should be created by the Federal Inland Revenue Service to record chargeable assets and chargeable persons to capital gains tax across the country to minimize or eliminate capital gains tax avoidance and evasion.