Digitalisation of the tax administration and mobilisation of public revenue in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: an empirical analysis

Abstract

This article analyses the relationship between the digitalisation of tax administration and the mobilisation of public revenue in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The study combines an institutional analysis of the digital services provided by the Directorate-General of Taxes (DGI) with an econometric estimation based on annual data from the World Bank for the period 2000–2023. Digitalisation is measured using a standardised index combining internet usage and mobile subscriptions, whilst tax mobilisation is measured by tax revenue as a percentage of GDP. The main model, estimated using ordinary least squares with Newey–West standard errors, shows a positive and statistically significant association between the digital index and tax revenue: an additional standard deviation in the index is associated with approximately 1.46 percentage points of GDP in additional tax revenue, conditional on economic growth. An alternative specification attributes the association primarily to mobile penetration. However, the first-differences model does not confirm a significant short-term relationship, which points to the risk of common trends and endogeneity. Digitalisation must therefore be understood as an infrastructure for compliance and information, not as an automatic solution. The priorities are interoperability, the quality of tax identification, electronic invoicing, cybersecurity, digital inclusion and the assessment of compliance costs.

Keywords: tax administration; digitalisation; tax revenue; compliance; DRC; the Internet; mobile telephony.

Received Date: June 19, 2026

Accepted Date: July 10, 2026

Published Date: August 01, 2026

Available Online at: https://www.ijsrisjournal.com/index.php/ojsfiles/article/view/945