Moderating Role of Public Trust in Government on the Relationship Between Taxpayers’ Education and Revenue Generation in Bayelsa State, Nigeria

This study investigates the moderating effects of public trust on the relationship between tax education and revenue generation in Bayelsa State. While tax education plays a vital role in enhancing taxpayers’ knowledge, compliance, and willingness to pay taxes, the effectiveness of such educational efforts is often influenced by the degree of trust citizens have in public institutions. Drawing on the social contract theory, the study explores how public trust improves the association between tax education and actual revenue outcomes. Using a quantitative research design, univariate, bivariate and multivariate statistics on primary data obtained from 218 taxpayers and tax administrators, findings showed a significant and positive relationship between electronic tax education and revenue generation in Bayelsa State, a significant and positive relationship between print tax education and revenue generation in Bayelsa State, a significant and positive relationship between stakeholders tax education and revenue generation in Bayelsa State, and public trust significantly and positively moderates the relationship, such that the effect of tax education on revenue generation is stronger when public trust is high. This implies that in societies where citizens perceive public institutions as transparent, accountable and fair, tax education efforts are more likely to translate into higher revenue generation. The study contributes to the literature on fiscal governance and suggests that policymakers must priorities building and sustaining public trust to maximise the effectiveness of tax education campaigns.