Socio-Economic Determinants of Willingness to Pay Tree Tax in Selected Suburbs of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract

The Federal Capital territory, Abuja, Nigeria is witnessing rapid population growth with its attendant consequences on construction especially infrastructural development. Consequently, the natural ecosystem, especially trees are exposed to rapid degradation and depletion. Since the new subsidy regime in Nigeria and the FCT in particular the cost of living is quite high and this has forced many inhabitants of the community especially those living outskirts to rely primarily on fuelwood, charcoal and expansion of agricultural activities which has a direct impact on the availability of trees in the study area. Therefore, in order to reverse the trend of the rapid depletion of trees, the need for tree tax becomes a viable option. The study utilises both the primary and secondary sources of data, data types included: respondents’ awareness of tree tax, payment of tree tax and socio-economic characteristics respondents. The sample frame of this work constitutes the six area councils in the FCT. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select respondents from Gwagwalada, Kuje and Bwari area councils, leading to 100 suitable responses analysed through cross-tabulation and Chi-Square tests as well as stepwise regression model. The analysis revealed a statistically significant association between willingness to pay the tree tax and gender (χ² = 9.368, p = 0.009), with females showing higher uncertainty compared to males. Family size also had a significant effect (χ² = 9.985, p = 0.041), as responses varied based on the number of children. The strongest association was with income level (χ² = 43.868, p < 0.001), where higher earners (₦60,000–₦80,000) were more willing to pay, while lower-income groups (₦8,000–₦15,000) were entirely unwilling. However, no significant associations were found between willingness to pay and marital status (p > 0.05), age (p = 0.127), occupation (p > 0.05), or education level (p = 0.101). These results suggest that gender, family size and income are key factors influencing willingness to pay the tree tax, while other demographic variables do not show a significant relationship. Stepwise regression analysis further confirmed that income alone accounted for 6% of the variation in willingness to pay tree tax, while combining income with age explained 52.8% of the variation, highlighting these as primary predictors. These findings have significant implications for environmental taxation policies and socio-economic engagement strategies.