Taxation of Nigeria's Solid Mineral Resources: Prospects and Challenges

Nigeria is endowed with a number of mineral resources. The Federal Government of Nigeria, being the owner of these resources, formulates polices which guarantee it some compensation for allowing extraction of these resources. Among these policies is the fiscal policy which is aimed at ensuring that government gets benefit from the mining of these resources, subject to attracting the investment necessary to realize those benefits. This article examines the taxation of mineral resources (solid minerals in particular) in Nigeria vis-a-vis the various taxes payable by the various entities. In doing this, the various extant tax laws on are examined. The article further examines the challenges and the prospects of mineral taxation in Nigeria. It is discovered that though there are many opportunities in the mineral sectors in terms of revenue generation and employments, there are also factors mitigating against the optimal realization of the gains of the sector. The fiscal regime governing taxation of mineral resources has also been found to be one-sided. The regime focuses only on the petroleum resources development rather than solid mineral development. A good understanding of what opportunities offered by the sector as well as the challenges facing the realization of the same will go a long way in assisting the government re-positioning the sector. This is necessary in the wake of calls to diversify the nation’s economy from being solely oil-based.