This paper examines the implementation of colonial taxation and its effects on the economic development of the Tiv of central Nigeria. It traces the history of taxation from the period when the Tiv were subjugated and brought under colonial rule. After conquest, the colonialists introduced taxation, which was new to the Tiv, and used it as a means of control to facilitate the process of colonial domination and the exploitation of the Tiv’s economic resources.

In doing this, the pre-colonial economic system was transformed and consequently integrated into the international capitalist system, where Tiv society served as an appendage to that system by acting as a reservoir for raw materials needed to feed the manufacturing industries in Europe. Although it can be argued that the colonial tax system contributed to the development of Tiv society, it was, in reality, a development for underdevelopment. This is because most of the developments introduced—such as roads, education, and hospitals—were inadequate and primarily directed toward achieving the broader interests of colonialism.

The impact of colonial taxation on the Tiv was one of underdevelopment and backwardness. The conclusion drawn is that the colonial tax system destroyed the natural process of economic growth that was taking place in Tiv society. The multidisciplinary approach was adopted in carrying out this research, utilizing both primary and secondary sources. The study contends that taxation, as a policy, was used as a pivot in enshrining the colonial agenda of economic exploitation of Tiv society. The findings reveal that colonial taxation was an exploitative system that appropriated the economic resources of the Tiv for the benefit of the colonial powers.