Digitizing Revenue Collections in Northern Uganda

This project studies the introduction of a digital tax assessment and collection system into local tax administration in Northern Uganda. We will partner with the UNCDF and Ministry of Local Government to measure the impacts of the digitized system on the process of tax assessment and revenue collections relative to a status quo manual registration and collection system. To study how the digital system affects the accuracy of tax assessment, the research team will conduct independent, objective assessments of taxpayers and match them to official records. This exercise will provide an opportunity to shed light on how gaps in assessment accuracy correlate with tax compliance to investigate how accuracy and perceived fairness in the assessment step of taxation impact payment and revenues. The results of the pilot evaluation are intended to inform the design of a larger randomized trial when the digital system is implemented at scale.