EXAMINING THE INFLUENCE OF BOARD ATTRIBUTES ON TAX PLANNING IN NIGERIAN LISTED DEPOSIT MONEY BANKS

Abstract

Nigeria, like many other developing economies faces complex and evolving tax landscape characterized by changing regulations, enforcement challenges, and economic uncertainties. Deposit money banks (DMBs), implement corporate planning strategies that exploit loopholes to minimize or avoid tax payments, thereby reducing the negative impact on financial performance. Therefore, this study investigates the extent to which board gender diversity, board independence, and board size influence tax planning of listed Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in Nigeria between 2016 to 2022. The population of the study is all the (13) listed DMBs on NGX as at December 2022 out of which eleven (11) DMBs were selected as the sample size. The data was extracted from the published annual reports and accounts of listed DMBs in Nigeria from 2016 to 2022. The study employed multiple regression model utilizing panel data analysis. The findings revealed that board gender diversity and board independence have significant positive relationship with tax planning. However, board size (BS) does not show a statistically significant relationship with TP. Hence, given the significant correlation between board gender diversity and board independence with tax planning. This indicates that banks with increased gender diversity and board independence on their boards are inclined to tax planning activities. Therefore, the study recommended that Listed deposit money banks in Nigeria should prioritize gender diversity and independence in their board composition to improve tax planning which may increase returns on shareholders’ investment. Consequently, abiding by the corporate laws and statute in the industry as well as to avoid prioritizing larger board sizes, as they demonstrate an insignificant impact on the tax planning of Listed DMBs in Nigeria.