Technology, taxation, and corruption: evidence from the introduction of electronic tax filing

Journal article

Many e-government initiatives introduce technology to improve efficiency and avoid potential human bias. Using experimental variation, we examine the impact of electronic tax filing (to replace in-person submission to tax officials) using data from Tajikistan firms. E-filing reduces the time firms spend on taxes by 40 percent. Further, among firms previously more likely to evade, e-filing doubles taxes paid. Conversely, evidence suggests that e-filing reduces tax payments among firms previously less likely to evade. These firms also pay fewer bribes, as e-filing reduces extortion opportunities. These patterns are consistent with differential treatment of firms by tax officials prior to e-filing.

Authors: Okunogbe, O; Pouliquen, V

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: American Economic Association
• Journal: American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
• Volume: 14
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 341-372
• Publication date: 2022-02-01
• Acceptance date: 2021-03-31
• DOI: 10.1257/pol.20200123
• EISSN: 1945-774X
• ISSN: 1945-7731
• Language: English
• Keywords: FFR