Abstract

The study investigated the effect of ownership structure on tax planning of quoted non-financial companies in Nigeria. It aims to find out the ownership structure that improves tax planning thereby reducing tax liability of the firms. Data for the study were extracted from the annual reports and accounts of the companies for ten years (2008 - 2017). The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics and multiple regressions. The study reveals that managerial and institutional ownerships have no significant positive effect on tax planning, while foreign ownership demonstrates no significant negative effect. Profitability measured using return on assets has a significant positive effect on tax planning of the sampled companies, and leverage shows a no significant negative effect. The findings imply that management-owned companies have fewer incentives to reduce tax, and there is a relationship in the attitude of management and institutional investors towards tax planning of the selected companies. In order to reduce the level of principal-agent conflicts, and to enhance tax planning and monitoring of management activities, the listed non-financial companies in Nigeria should encourage managerial shareholding.

Key words: Tax planning, managerial shareholding, institutional shareholding, foreign shareholding, tax expenses.