African governments are increasingly digitalizing their tax systems to enhance revenue collection. This study examines the adoption and impact of electronic tax services on SMEs in Burkina Faso, using survey and administrative tax data. It focuses on three indicators: registration on eSINTAX, e-filing, and digital tax payment. Findings show that eSINTAX adoption is driven by factors such as SARL legal status, electronic billing, and higher tax knowledge. Digital tax payment improves perceptions of transparency and reduces perceived corruption. Registration and e-filing increase declared tax amounts. Digital payment leads to higher actual tax payments. The study recommends: Targeted awareness campaigns and practical training to encourage adoption. Investments in digital infrastructure to boost trust and reliability. Strengthening e-payment security to enhance taxpayer confidence. These measures are essential for the successful digitalization of tax systems across African economies.

To reduce tax evasion, in 2013 and 2014 the Hungarian government introduced mandatory online cash registers (OCR) in some sectors. As a result, almost 200,000 OCRs have been installed by 100,000 enterprises. We assume that OCR installation does not change the company’s operating model, so the increase in reported turnover around the installation date reflects a reduction in tax evasion. In this paper, we use microdata to estimate the effect of OCR introduction on reported turnover and tax liabilities using fixed-effects panel and event study models. We identify strong size-related heterogeneity in the retail and the accommodation and food services sectors: smaller companies increased their reported turnover more than larger ones. Since large companies pay the dominant part of value-added tax, the effects on the payment of this tax were mitigated. We find significant spillover effects to suppliers in both sectors, which are slightly stronger among larger companies.

The digitalisation of tax administration promises improved efficiency and increased tax revenues. In recent years, the real-time information trail of the VAT has been digitalised in many developing countries. We evaluate the impact of introducing an e-invoicing system in Uganda by utilizing administrative tax data. The intervention mandated all VAT-registered taxpayers to issue e-invoices for all sales from January 2021. We show that the intervention has been successful, with over 95 percent of VAT taxpayers registered. The introduction of e-invoicing system has led to a significant increase in the monthly VAT declarations, suggesting improved perceptions of evasion detection. However, only about 60 percent of VAT taxpayers issue invoices regularly. The total sales recorded through e-invoicing system align closely with VAT returns. While total sales haven’t shifted significantly, there has been a reduction in VAT due, likely due to more firms claiming input VAT, resulting in more negative VAT liabilities.

With the rapid progress of information and communication technology, the digitalization of administrative processes by governments has gained much attention.This study investigates its effect on tax compliance costs and tax evasion using a reform that mandates large corporations to adopt electronic filing in Japan. The mandatory electronic filing reduced amendment submissions by one-third, and the effects are larger for corporations that were more likely to file amended returns before and those located in a large city. We detected no effects on tax evasion or tax payments in this country where tax administration and morale are developed.