Taxpayer Satisfaction, Service Quality, and Compliance Intentions in North West Nigeria

This study empirically investigates the relationship between taxpayer satisfaction with revenue service quality and compliance intentions in the North West geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Service quality-based approaches to tax administration, grounded in customer service literature adapted to the public sector, posit that taxpayers who experience efficient, respectful, and accessible services are more likely to comply willingly and consistently. In North West Nigeria, encompassing Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Katsina, and Jigawa states, revenue administration quality varies substantially and has received limited academic attention. Using a multi-stage cluster-stratified sample of 480 taxpayers across four states in the zone, the study employs the SERVQUAL instrument adapted for tax administration to measure five service quality dimensions: tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Compliance intentions are operationalised using validated scales from the tax compliance literature. Structural equation modelling tests the hypothesised quality-satisfaction-compliance chain, with perceived value for money as a moderating variable. The study expects to find that service reliability, particularly the consistent and accurate processing of tax returns, and assurance, reflecting staff competence and trustworthiness, are the strongest drivers of taxpayer satisfaction and compliance intention in the North West context. Geopolitical zone-specific compliance determinants emerging from the analysis inform region-targeted compliance improvement strategies. Keywords: taxpayer satisfaction, service quality, SERVQUAL, compliance intentions, North West Nigeria.