Abuse of Right Doctrine: A Contending but Not Contentious Doctrine in Contemporary Nigerian Tax Jurisprudence

Abstract

Taxpayers are given the right to plan and limit their tax liability through tax avoidance devices. Unfortunately, some taxpayers are now hiding under the shield of 'the right to plan' to abuse and aggressively avoid tax payment; hence, the doctrine of abuse of right is thus introduced into tax jurisprudence. This paper therefore examines this doctrine and highlights the applicability of this doctrine to the Nigerian situation, and concludes that despite the usefulness of this doctrine, it should be sparingly used once a taxpayer planned his liability through the acceptable means of tax avoidance.