Authors :
Dushime Yvonne
Volume/Issue :
Volume 10 - 2025, Issue 10 - October
Google Scholar :
https://tinyurl.com/5czcahff
Scribd :
https://tinyurl.com/yk7b6vmc
DOI :
https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/25oct097
Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.
Note : Google Scholar may take 30 to 40 days to display the article.
Abstract :
Rwanda’s economic development, aligned with global trends, depends heavily on tax revenue to finance critical
infrastructure and public services including education, healthcare, public safety and transportation networks. These services
are vital for achieving Rwanda’s Vision 2050 goals of sustainable growth and poverty reduction. However,tax compliance
remains a significant challenge, with a substantial portion of the population, particularly among small-scale traders and
rural taxpayers failing to file or pay taxes on time. This non-compliance limits the government’s ability to fund essential
services and hinders Rwanda’s ambition to become middle-income economy.This study investigates the potential of machine
learning models to predict tax non-compliance using historical taxpayer data from the Rwanda Revenue Authority(RRA)
covering 2018-2023. By leveraging regression analysis and advanced predictive models such as Logistic Regression, Random
Forest, XG-Boost and Decision tree,the study aims to identify individuals or businesses at high risks of failing to file or pay
taxes on time. Additionally, it seeks to pinpoint key predictors of non-compliance such as income levels, business size, sector
and geographic location.
Keywords :
Tax Non-Compliance, Machine Learning, Rwanda Revenue Authority, Corporate Income Tax (CIT), Personal Income Tax (PIT), Non-Compliance Detection, Risk-Based Auditing, Data-Driven Decision Making, Tax Administration.
References :
- Bird, R. M., & Zolt, E. M. (2019). Taxation and development: The weakest link? Essays in International Taxation. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3292406
- Mascagni, G., & Mengistu, A. (2020). Can ICTs Increase Tax Compliance? Evidence on Citizen Engagement from a Randomised Controlled Trial in Ethiopia. ICTD Working Paper 109. https://www.ictd.ac/publication/ict-tax-compliance-ethiopia/
- Mascagni, G., & Nell, C. (2022). Teach to comply? Evidence from a taxpayer education programme in Rwanda. International Centre for Tax and Development. https://www.ictd.ac/publication/teach-comply-evidence-taxpayer-education-programme-rwanda/
- Hakizimana, N., & Santoro, F. (2023). Technology evolution and tax compliance: Evidence from Rwanda. International Centre for Tax and Development. https://www.ictd.ac/publication/technology-evolution-tax-compliance-evidence-rwanda/
- Murorunkwere, B. F., Haughton, D., Nzabanita, J., Kipkogei, F., & Kabano, I. (2023). Predicting tax fraud using supervised machine learning approach. African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/20421338.2023.2187930
- Chen, Y., & Liu, W. (2023). The sentiment attitude of Weibo users towards annual individual income tax return: Based on natural language processing and machine learning methods. Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, 67–72. https://doi.org/10.1109/BDAI59165.2023.10256913
- Jayanti, D., Sulistyo, S., & Santosa, P. I. (2024). Application of machine learning in taxation: A systematic literature review. 2024 International Seminar on Intelligent Technology and Its Applications (ISITIA). https://doi.org/10.1109/ISITIA63062.2024.10668268
- Joseph, A., Olabanji, O., & Wibowo, A. (2024). Transforming tax compliance with machine learning: Reducing fraud and enhancing revenue collection. Asian Journal of Economics, Business and Accounting, 24(11), 503–513.
- Rwanda Revenue Authority. (2023). Official RRA Website. https://www.rra.gov.rw
- Scikit-learn. (2024). Machine Learning in Python. https://scikit-learn.org/stable/
- Battaglini, M., Guiso, L., Lacava, C., Miller, D. L., & Patacchini, E. (2024). Refining public policies with machine learning: The case of tax auditing. Journal of Econometrics. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304407624001921
- Zhang, J., & Wang, L. (2024). Using machine deep learning AI to improve forecasting of tax payments for corporations. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 6(4), 48. https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9394/6/4/48
- Liu, Y., Chen, X., & Zhang, K. (2023). A survey of tax risk detection using data mining techniques. Neurocomputing, 545, 126308. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095809923003867
- International Monetary Fund. (2024). Understanding artificial intelligence in tax and customs administration. Technical Notes and Manuals, 2024(006). https://www.elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/005/2024/006/article-A001-en.xml
- Okoye, P. V., & Ezejiofor, R. A. (2024). The role of artificial intelligence in enhancing tax compliance and financial regulation. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/378475910_THE_ROLE_OF_ARTIFICIAL_INTELLIGENCE_IN_ENHANCING_TAX_COMPLIANCE_AND_FINANCIAL_REGULATION
- Zheng, S., Trott, A., Srinivasa, S., Parkes, D. C., & Socher, R. (2022). The AI economist: Taxation policy design via two-level deep multiagent reinforcement learning. Science Advances, 8(6). https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abk2607
- Antinyan, A., & Asatryan, Z. (2023). Nudging for tax compliance: A meta-analysis. The Economic Journal, 135(668), 1033-1056. https://academic.oup.com/ej/article/135/668/1033/7810274
- Chen, L., Liu, X., & Wang, S. (2024). Information nudges and tax compliance: Evidence from a field experiment in China. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 227, 106543. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167268124003937
- Martinez, A., Rodriguez, B., & Silva, C. (2023). The $100 million nudge: Increasing tax compliance of firms using a natural field experiment. Journal of Public Economics, 216, 104785. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047272722001815
- World Bank Group. (2024). Nudging under pressure: Behavioral insights for tax compliance during a global pandemic. World Bank Blogs. https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/governance/nudging-under-pressure-behavioral-insights-tax-compliance-during-global-pandemic
Rwanda’s economic development, aligned with global trends, depends heavily on tax revenue to finance critical
infrastructure and public services including education, healthcare, public safety and transportation networks. These services
are vital for achieving Rwanda’s Vision 2050 goals of sustainable growth and poverty reduction. However,tax compliance
remains a significant challenge, with a substantial portion of the population, particularly among small-scale traders and
rural taxpayers failing to file or pay taxes on time. This non-compliance limits the government’s ability to fund essential
services and hinders Rwanda’s ambition to become middle-income economy.This study investigates the potential of machine
learning models to predict tax non-compliance using historical taxpayer data from the Rwanda Revenue Authority(RRA)
covering 2018-2023. By leveraging regression analysis and advanced predictive models such as Logistic Regression, Random
Forest, XG-Boost and Decision tree,the study aims to identify individuals or businesses at high risks of failing to file or pay
taxes on time. Additionally, it seeks to pinpoint key predictors of non-compliance such as income levels, business size, sector
and geographic location.
Keywords :
Tax Non-Compliance, Machine Learning, Rwanda Revenue Authority, Corporate Income Tax (CIT), Personal Income Tax (PIT), Non-Compliance Detection, Risk-Based Auditing, Data-Driven Decision Making, Tax Administration.