The Role of Tax Revenue in Financing Public Infrastructure in Borno State

This study investigates the contribution of tax revenue to public infrastructure financing in Borno State, North East Nigeria, a region that has faced severe developmental setbacks due to prolonged security challenges. Rebuilding infrastructure requires substantial and sustainable domestic revenue, yet Borno State's tax revenue base remains fragile due to displacement of businesses and erosion of the formal tax-paying population. Using an ex-post facto and descriptive approach, the research analyses Borno State Government budget implementation reports and tax revenue data covering five recent fiscal years. Primary data supplement secondary sources through interviews with ten officials from the Borno State Board of Internal Revenue and the Ministry of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement. Thematic analysis is applied to qualitative data, while trend analysis is used for revenue and expenditure data. The study expects to reveal that tax revenue constitutes a small fraction of infrastructure financing, with the state remaining heavily dependent on federal allocations. It further finds that the post-conflict business environment, while recovering, continues to suppress commercial and personal income tax receipts. Recommendations include offering targeted tax relief for businesses relocating to Borno, establishing a dedicated infrastructure financing levy on high-income residents, and building long-term tax administration capacity through sustained donor-supported technical assistance. This research contributes to the understudied field of post-conflict tax policy in Nigeria. Keywords: tax revenue, public infrastructure, Borno State, post-conflict recovery, domestic revenue.