TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION AND FRAUD PREVENTION IN STATE TAX ADMINISTRATION: EVIDENCE FROM PLATEAU STATE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined Technology Adoption and Fraud Prevention in State Tax Administration: Evidence from Plateau State Internal Revenue Service, Nigeria. The study employs a cross-sectional survey design. The target population of the study comprises all staff of the Plateau State Internal Revenue Service who are directly involved in tax administration, enforcement, and information processing. The staff population is approximately 150 employees. The study adopts a census approach, where all eligible staff members are invited to participate. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple regression were employed to analyse the data using SPSS. The findings reveal that e-tax system usage (β = 0.29, t = 3.84, p < 0.001) has a positive and statistically significant effect on fraud prevention, data analytics tools (β = 0.37, t = 4.96, p < 0.001) show the strongest and most significant positive effect among all predictors, real-time monitoring (β = 0.26, t = 3.41, p = 0.001) also has a significant positive effect on fraud prevention; biometric authentication (β = 0.08, t = 1.21, p = 0.228) shows a positive but statistically insignificant effect. The study recommends that PSIRS should fully automate tax administration processes, including the adoption of electronic filing and payment platforms to reduce human intervention and potential for corruption; PSIRS should Invest in advanced forensic tools and data analytics (data mining) and establish specialized units for analyzing bank statements and to detect tax fraud and PSIRS should implement real-time monitoring and surveillance systems on revenue collection to ensure immediate identification of anomalies.