An Evaluation of the Effects of Tax Planning On the Performance of Firms in The Oil and Gas Sector in Nigeria

This study investigated the effect of tax planning on the performance of firms in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria for the period between 2012 and 2021. Specifically, the study ascertained the effects of thin capitalization on the performance of firms in the oil and gas sector, evaluated how tax incentives affect the performance of firms in the oil and gas sector and analyzed the extent to which earnings management influences the performance of firms in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria. The study adopted an expo-facto research design. This study used secondary data financial statements of 10 firms out of the 12 listed firms in the oil and gas sector. The data comprises annual time series spanning from 2012 through 2021. The research employed only a quantitative method of data analysis. The analysis begins with the description of data with the use of mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum. This was followed by the pearson correlation matrix to show the relationship between the outcome and predictor variables of the study. Thereafter, a regression analysis was carried out on the panel data with regard to pooled Ordinary Least Square (OLS) estimation, fixed effect estimation, random effect estimation and other position estimation tests which include the Hausman test. The tested hypotheses revealed that EAM exerts a negative and non-significant impact on ROE on the ground of -0.0744611(p=0.656>0.05). On the contrary, TINCAP exerts a positive significant effect on ROE with the coefficient and probability values of 0.0038462 and 0.041 respectively. Finally, TAINC has a positive but insignificant effect on ROE to the tune of 0.008113 (p=0.939>0.05). From the analysis carried out, it was established that tax planning statistically influences the performance of firms in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria. Keywords: Evaluation, Tax Planning, Performance, Firms, Oil and Gas Sector, Nigeria