Does Tax Revenue Influence the Attainment of Environmentally Sustainable Development in Sub-Saharan African Countries?

Abstract

Since the establishment of sustainable development goals in 2000, attaining environmentally sustainable development in sub-Saharan African countries has been a myth. The SDG reports revealed that SSA has only attained 44 per cent of the environmentally sustainable development target in the last twenty-one years (2001-2022). The region needed sufficient financial resources for the successful achievement of environmentally sustainable goals through the generation of adequate tax revenue. The impact of strong governance in effective management of the available funds and ensuring adherence to environmental policies is important for the successful implementation of environmentally sustainable laws and policies. This paper examined the effect of tax revenue on environmentally sustainable development using the System Generalized Moment Method for the analysis. The result showed that sufficient funds through adequate tax revenue generation are needed to attain environmentally sustainable goals in SSA. Also, the importance of strong governance cannot be overemphasized in managing natural resources and curbing environmental chaos.