Taxation and Gender Equity: Implications for Women Entrepreneurs in North Central Nigeria

This study investigates the intersection of tax policy and gender equity, with a focus on the tax-related challenges facing women entrepreneurs in the North Central geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Women entrepreneurs, who constitute a significant proportion of the micro and small business population in states including Kogi, Benue, and Kwara, often face a distinct set of compliance barriers rooted in lower financial literacy, limited access to advisory services, and disproportionate exposure to multiple informal levies. Using a PGD applied professional design, the study collects primary data from 140 women-owned enterprises in Lokoja, Makurdi, and Ilorin through structured questionnaires covering tax obligation awareness, compliance experience, and perceived equity of the tax system. Interviews with ten gender and tax policy specialists from civil society and government complement the quantitative data. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis are employed. The study expects to find that women entrepreneurs face compounded compliance challenges relative to male-owned businesses of equivalent size, particularly from local government revenue agents operating in markets where women predominate. It also anticipates that the VAT registration threshold inadvertently captures many women-owned micro-enterprises that lack the administrative capacity to comply. Recommendations include tailoring tax education campaigns to women's business associations, reviewing the VAT threshold to exclude genuine micro-enterprises, and establishing gender-disaggregated tax data collection to track equity outcomes systematically. Keywords: gender equity, women entrepreneurs, tax compliance, North Central Nigeria, micro-enterprise.