Authors : Joseph BIMBALA NGWABA; KIABABANZAWOKO KUDILUA; KULUNGU ZUMBU Papy; RICH KITONDUA KIMBANGU; KABEYA KADIMA Michel; Kinkete MFUMABI; NTAMBWE PASWANZAMBI
Volume/Issue : Volume 8 - 2023, Issue 11 - November
Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/3d9dszbu
Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/4pkbwf6p
DOI : https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10154189
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC) as in most developing countries, tax revenue is
the primary source of funding of government
expenditure. Consequently, tax administration must be
the most prestigious, efficient, proactive, organized
sector ever. The questions at the center of economic
policies are: what is the suitabletax system like? And
how can it be designed to “optimally” raise revenue to
finance public expenditures and promote economic
development? Many developed countries have tried
hard and achieved efficient tax management system
using available solutions in hand including United
States, Canada and Asian countries including China,
South Korea, to name just a few. According to some
official intentional organization reports, African
countries are poorly ranked as far as tax management is
concerned. The method of tax collection coupled with
structural-functional complexity challenge, lack of tax
culture and more importantly the ignorance that
information technology has the potential to modernize
tax system hinderfrom raising sufficient tax and make
the most of it. This paper strongly supports developing
countries not to invent the wheel, rather make the most
of developed countries achievements and best practices
and customize them to their local context. It analyzes
the existing tax management of the DRC particularly,
provides a critical review of Korea’s tax system and
summarizes its key IT takeaways over developing
countries in general, particularly the DRC.The case
study of Korea is insightful and shows possible solutions
for modernization of tax system. A critical assessment
on the functional, organizational and structural
challenges was conducted using analytical and
descriptive methodologies. Thus, the discussion,
conclusion, and recommendations are intended to
Congolese government and policy makers to serve as
responsive option on the possibility of solving tax
management system challenges in the sector. In a word,
taxsystem design found in Korea reflects its unique
structure, function and policy objectives irrespective of
what found in other countries throughout the globe. It
has closely evolved along with its economic development
polices, deemed miraculous, thereby their tax policies
should be considered with caution. The author
cautiously propose a customized tax framework for the
DRC, that can be extended to other developing
countries. The case study also illustrates how long the e-
tax administration modernization journey can be.
Keywords : ICT, tax compliance, e-government, e-invoice.