• Login
    View Item 
    •   OpenDocs Home
    • Institute of Development Studies Research Repository
    • International Centre for Tax and Development
    • International Centre for Tax and Development
    • View Item
    •   OpenDocs Home
    • Institute of Development Studies Research Repository
    • International Centre for Tax and Development
    • International Centre for Tax and Development
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Information Technology and Fiscal Capacity in a Developing Country: Evidence from Ethiopia

    Thumbnail
    Download
    WP31.pdf (821.6Kb)
    Date
    2015-01
    Author
    Ali, Merima
    Shifa, Abdulaziz
    Shimeles, Abebe
    Woldeyes, Firew
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Impact
    Abstract
    Governments in developing countries are typically constrained by a limited fiscal capacity to finance the provision of essential public goods – a constraint that has been cited as one of the fundamental challenges to economic development. Several developing countries have recently implemented electronic tax systems (ETS) to improve monitoring tax compliance using modern information technology (such as electronic sales registry machines (ESRMs)). Despite the widespread adoption of ETS throughout the developing world, there is a dearth of systematic evidence on its impact. In this paper, we document the impact of ETS using quasi-experimental evidence from Ethiopia – a low-income country in Sub-Saharan Africa which expanded use of ESRMs in recent years. We use administrative data covering the entire set of those registered for Value Added Tax (VAT) in Ethiopia. We find that ETS resulted in a large and significant increase in VAT payments (of about 20 log points). We also find evidence that the effect is driven primarily by firms that are more likely to evade taxes prior to ETS adoption, suggesting that ETS has minimised tax evasion.
    URI
    https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/20.500.12413/11180
    Citation
    Ali, M. et al., (2015) Information Technology and Fiscal Capacity in a Developing Country: Evidence from Ethiopia. ICTD Working Paper 31. Brighton: IDS.
    Is part of series
    ICTD Working Paper;31
    More details
    http://www.ictd.ac/publication/2-working-papers/24-information-technology-and-fiscal-capacity-in-a-developing-country-evidence-from-ethiopia
    Rights holder
    © Institute of Development Studies
    Rights details
    http://www.ids.ac.uk/files/dmfile/IDSOpenDocsStandardTermsOfUse.pdf
    Sponsor
    DfID, NORAD.
    Collections
    • International Centre for Tax and Development [432]

    About OpenDocs | OpenDocs Policy | Help | Contact Us | Send Feedback | Disclaimer and Cookies
     

     

    Browse

    All of OpenDocsCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Statistics

    Most Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors

    About OpenDocs | OpenDocs Policy | Help | Contact Us | Send Feedback | Disclaimer and Cookies