Money, has been chosen to become the strength and back body of any political system, in which Nigeria political system is not excepted Nigeria as federating unit, chosen to be operational in political, social and economy system, in lieu of the diverse culture. This brought to separate Nigeria into different tiers, ranging from federal government, state government and local government.
In 1914, amalgamation of Northern and Southern protectorate that brought Nigeria into federation unit, this give birth to disintegration of the country into three different unit.
This indicate that central, state and local government to survived there will be minimum resource independent revenue and full control of such revenue in order to discharge it constitutional responsibility.
Isaac (1986) Asserted that finance has emerged, as the most critical policy issue in IGR in federal administration system.
DEFINITION
No component unit of the federal system survives without minimum independent revenue and control of the same revenue so as to enable it undertake it statutory reasonability as initiated by the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.
Fiscal federalism refers to the allocation of tax-arising powers and expenditure responsibilities between levels of governments. According to Sewell etal (1994) quoted in Guyer (1997), the objective of fiscal relation among units in a federal area:-
1. To ensure correspondence between sub-national expenditure responsibilities and their financial resources (including transfers from central government) so that functions assigned to sub- national government can effectively carried out.
2. To increase the autonomy of sub-national government by I incorporating incentives for them to mobilized revenues of other own.
3. To ensure that the macroeconomic management policy of central government are not undermined or compromised.
4. To give expenditure discretion to sub-national government in appropriate areas in order to increase the efficiency of public spending and improve the accountability of sub- national officials to their continents in the provision of sub-national services.
5. To incorporate intergovernmental transfers that are administratively, simple, transparent and based on objective, stable and non-negotiated criteria;
6. To minimize administrative cost and, thereby, economize on scarce criteria.
7. To provide equalization payments to offset the differences in fiscal capacity among states and among local governments so as to ensure that poor sub-national governments can offer a sufficient amount of key public services;
8. To incorporate mechanism to support public infrastructure development and its appropriate financing;
9. To support the emergence of a government role that is consistent with markets oriented reform;
10. To be consistent with nationally agreed income distribution goals.
Nigeria fiscal federalism structure involves the allocation of expenditure and tax raising power among the federal, state and local government. (1997:6), position fiscal federalism is deeply rooted in a political arrangement called federalism” in a federal nthere level of independence existing among the three tiers of government. One may not perform the constitutional responsibility without help of other, therefore, connote that is interference among the levels of government in term of money.
Federal government may give to support both state and Local government to overcome the predicament, complete capital project where necessary. No wonder, (Akindele 2009) in F. O. Okpata etal (20120, has it that in Nigeria, Local Government expenditure has constantly surpassed the potential for revenue sources owing to the great gulf between their needs and their fiscal capacity.
INTER GOVERNMENTAL FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIP
Federalism, found it hard to survive without financial relations. This in most if not all federal counties, one of the governmental wrangle centres on the problem of securing adequate to discharge essential political and constitutional responsibilities. There are basic reason that necessitate transfer of revenue resources from higher to lower levels of government in a federation are:-
(i) The nature of the functions and revenue resources of the three levels of government
(ii) The variations in the revenue raising capacities of the lower level of government
(iii) Transfer designed primarily to encourage particular state or loca activities.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT FISCAL RELATIONS
Local Government is established by law and empower the state government to oversee the functions and activities in conjunction with federal government in finance, so as to be viable in discharging if constituently reasonability.
The laws that give the state power to create local government thereafter, empower the local government to generating their fund from the following areas:
(1) Internal and external revenue
(2) Recurrent and capital revenue
Internal revenue resources: This money generating through tax payers, such as income tax, pol tax, rates, licenses
fine, fees, earning from commercial undertaking, investment revenue, sales of local government property etc.
(b) External revenue resource: statutory allocations from federation account 25% and state government – 10%. Under the 1979 and 1989 constitution, grant local government power to receive from the state government 10% white 25% from the federation account. Another area local government could get their finares are follows, grant, lake-off grant, special grant, equalization grant, loans from financial institution, world bank, central bank of Nigeria (BN).
2(a) Recurrent revenue: This is the among given to the local government annually to capacitating if function proper, N. I. Urauako (2011:15) defined recurrent revenue as money which local government authorities receive every year to enable them unction properly. They include taxes, rate licenses, fine fees, earning from commercial undertakings, rent on government properties, statutory allocation, VAT, grants, interest, repayment dividends etc.
Capital revenue: Due to non viability of the Local Government, could hesting it to apply or seek for loan from financial institution as well as grant from state and federal government to enable them financial capital project and acquisition of fixed assets.
From the areas with which local government obtained it revenue from, to be able to find us projects as enuliated to create local government would not have achieve. The lives of people in the local communities with which constitution is looking at from both state and federal government are meant to enable them perform as stipulated by the constitution of the republic of Nigeria.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the intergovernmental fiscal relation is bond that held together the federal, state and social government together therefore, no level of government can stand without the aid of other levels as in the case of federalism.
The joint share which harness by the mobilization and fiscal commission that ensure every level of government take home the specific amount from federal allocation account in order to perform their constitutional responsibility.
Recommendation
The birth of the Local Government and viability of Local Government lies on the financial allocation to do more of its responsibility, to be responsive there should be increase of fund of the Local Government, for it is the government that nearer to the people, so as to increase performance in the countries.
As their increase their finances more work or performances should accorded on then because he who much is given much is expected of him
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