Digital Tax Administration Systems and Revenue Collection Performance in Rwanda (2012-2024)

Abstract

The effects of the digital tax administration systems on revenue performance in Rwanda, specifically on eBilling Machines’ (EBMs) and electronic tax portals, form the focus of this study. Using a mixed methods approach involving survey of 100 tax payers and practitioners and quantitative analysis through the SPSS Version 24, it aimed at providing empirical evidence on the performance, challenges, and potentials of digital tax tool in the Rwandan context. The findings show that the majority of businesses had adopted the digital tax system, with 100% of respondent businesses having EBMs, and 80% proving familiar with such digitally-driven tax platforms. Over half of the respondents (54%) admitted that digital systems improved revenue performance, and roughly 67% agreed that EBMs are very effective in lowering tax evasion. The two aspects that respondents were very positive about the digital systems were improvements in transparency (79%) and operational efficiency (66%). On the contrary, there are many other challenges: poor internet connectivity (24%), lack of training (16%), and technical failure (16%) are wearing down the optimal use of such systems. While arguably positive in compliance behavior, the study concludes that digital tax transformation in Rwanda still has substantial implementation gaps that require targeted interventions. Improvement in areas like provision of sufficient professional support, development of digital infrastructure, simplification of user interfaces, and refinements of vague tax provision are among the proposed recommendations.