This paper aimed at stretching the point that taxation is the most important and most durable revenue source to be used by any serious government as it pursues the achievement of sustainable economic development. It is also the most important instrument for bridging the “gap” between the rich and the poor and for ensuring economic stabilization and control of consumption behavior of individuals and the productive activities of firms within an economy. The paper is a literature review-type and is strongly backed up by the numerous practical experiences generated by the author while serving public interest as a state Commissioner of Finance Kano State, Nigeria, for 28 months and, presently, as a Federal Commissioner of the Tax Appeal Tribunal. The paper argued that in the absence of strong tax system in any community at various levels of public governance, the “gap” between the rich and the poor would be widening; that economic instability would be on the high side to the level that class antagonism would be well pronounced; and that regulation and control of the consumption behavior of individuals and productive behavior of companies would be difficult. The paper concluded that the present time in Nigeria and other developing economies of the world is the truth time for telling the truth to the government that centralization of taxation for sustainable development is the reality to squarely face by any serious government of a developing economy.

Keywords: Tax, Taxation, Economic Development, Sustainable Development, Public governance