Publication: Improving Consumption-Based Tax Compliance: Evidence from Point of Sale Usage in Subnational Governments in Indonesia
Loading...
Date
2023-11-28
ISSN
Published
2023-11-28
Editor(s)
Abstract
This paper studies the impact of point of sale technology adoption on local tax compliance by firms. The paper exploits administrative data on monthly restaurant and hotel tax payments in the Indonesian districts of West Manggarai and Gorontalo and combines this with information on the point of sales distribution timeline from 2018 to 2022. The findings show that certain point of sales treatments led to a substantial increase in restaurant tax payments, ranging from 55 to 180 percent, while others did not increase tax revenues. The paper discusses the underlying drivers of the results and argues that the effectiveness of point of sales technology is conditional on (i) the devices’ ease of use, (ii) the recipients’ technological aptitude, and (iii) the presence of information accessible by third parties.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Chattha, Muhammad Khudadad; Tyas, Prabaning; Soko, Naranggi Pramudya; Fadilla, Raka Rizky. 2023. Improving Consumption-Based Tax Compliance: Evidence from Point of Sale Usage in Subnational Governments in Indonesia. Policy Research Working Papers; 10610. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/40647 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Publication Disentangling the Key Economic Channels through Which Infrastructure Affects Jobs(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-03)This paper takes stock of the literature on infrastructure and jobs published since the early 2000s, using a conceptual framework to identify the key channels through which different types of infrastructure impact jobs. Where relevant, it highlights the different approaches and findings in the cases of energy, digital, and transport infrastructure. Overall, the literature review provides strong evidence of infrastructure’s positive impact on employment, particularly for women. In the case of electricity, this impact arises from freeing time that would otherwise be spent on household tasks. Similarly, digital infrastructure, particularly mobile phone coverage, has demonstrated positive labor market effects, often driven by private sector investments rather than large public expenditures, which are typically required for other large-scale infrastructure projects. The evidence on structural transformation is also positive, with some notable exceptions, such as studies that find no significant impact on structural transformation in rural India in the cases of electricity and roads. Even with better market connections, remote areas may continue to lack economic opportunities, due to the absence of agglomeration economies and complementary inputs such as human capital. Accordingly, reducing transport costs alone may not be sufficient to drive economic transformation in rural areas. The spatial dimension of transformation is particularly relevant for transport, both internationally—by enhancing trade integration—and within countries, where economic development tends to drive firms and jobs toward urban centers, benefitting from economies scale and network effects. Turning to organizational transformation, evidence on skill bias in developing countries is more mixed than in developed countries and may vary considerably by context. Further research, especially on the possible reasons explaining the differences between developed and developing economies, is needed.Publication Economic Consequences of Trade and Global Value Chain Integration(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2025-04-04)This paper introduces a new approach to measuring Global Value Chains (GVC), crucial for informed policy-making. It features a tripartite classification (backward, forward, and two-sided) covering trade and production data. The findings indicate that traditional trade-based GVC metrics significantly underestimate global GVC activity, especially in sectors like services and upstream manufacturing, and overstate risks in early trade liberalization stages. Additionally, conventional backward-forward classifications over-estimate backward linkages. The paper further applies these measures empirically to assess how GVC participation mediates the impact of demand shocks on domestic output, highlighting both the exposure and stabilizing potential of GVC integration. These new measures are comprehensively available on the World Bank’s WITS Platform, providing a key resource for GVC analysis.Publication Participation in Pension Programs in Low- and Middle-Income Countries(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-24)Low- and middle-income countries are aging rapidly but stagnation of growth in participation in pension programs, due to widespread informal employment, presents a major fiscal challenge. Some claim that improving the design of pension program rules can encourage more pension contributions, while others push for universal non-contributory pensions. This paper reviews the recent academic literature on the determinants of active participation in pension systems in high- informality settings. An emerging body of evidence shows that participation responds significantly to financial incentives as well as nonfinancial obstacles. At the same time, pensions are imperfect substitutes for other strategies to cover longevity risk, including support through the family, which will remain crucial for many older people in fiscally constrained environments. Therefore, policy makers should integrate the design of contributory pensions, social pensions, and policies that facilitate other forms of elderly support and consider how all three interact. To inform such efforts, these interactions must be more systematically investigated, and the empirical evidence must be expanded beyond a small number of middle-income countries.Publication Capitalizing on Digital Transformation to Enhance the Effectiveness of Property Institutions(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-14)Property registries have long been a pillar of state capacity and a basis for private market activity. While registry establishment and operation traditionally were costly and time consuming, digital technology makes low-cost registry operation and wide outreach easier. To guide developing countries aiming to establish such registries and measure progress, this paper develops indicators (in terms of digital coverage, interoperability, and property taxation for local service delivery and public land management) of effective digital registry service provision. Data from 85 countries highlight vast differences and provide suggestions for strategic reforms as well as a basis for measuring progress over time. Expanding geographical coverage and collecting these indicators on a regular basis could provide guidance to improve the way in which, by protecting property, the state creates the basis for widely shared prosperity and a livable environment.Publication Bridging the Gap(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-21)This paper examines tax revenue shortfalls in South Asian countries. On average during 2019–23, South Asian revenues totaled 18 percent of GDP—well below the average 24 percent among emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs). Econometric estimates from stochastic frontier analysis, which control for tax rates and the size of potential tax bases, suggest that tax revenues in the region are 1 to 7 percentage points of GDP below potential, with shortfalls in five of the region’s eight countries larger than in the average EMDE. Even after controlling for country characteristics, such as widespread informal economic activity outside the tax net and large agriculture sectors, sizable tax gaps remain, suggesting the need for improved tax policy and administration. The paper discusses and provides evidence from international experience with reforms to raise government revenues.
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Can Electronic Tax Invoicing Improve Tax Compliance?(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-03)This paper reviews the Republic of Korea's experience with electronic tax invoices for its value-added tax regime from the perspectives of tax policy makers and administrators. The paper evaluates Korea's implementation of electronic tax invoicing and analyzes its effect on tax compliance through enhanced transparency of business transactions and taxpayer services. First implemented in 2011, mandatory electronic tax invoicing has been credited with lowering tax compliance costs and raising the transparency of business transactions. Effective policy design and implementation have contributed to the country's success with electronic tax invoicing. Measured in transaction value, the electronic tax invoice adoption rate reached 99.8 percent in the first year and rose to 99.9 percent by 2013, compared with 15 percent before electronic tax invoicing became mandatory. According to a survey of taxpayers and tax practitioners in Korea that was conducted as part of this research study, 69.4 percent of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that mandatory electronic tax invoicing has contributed to curbing value-added tax evasion by raising transaction transparency, and 72.9 percent agreed or strongly agreed that it has improved taxpayer service by facilitating the convenience of tax filing or automating the issuance of invoices. The review of Korea's experiences gives credence to the contention that well-planned and well-executed compulsory electronic tax invoices can materially enhance tax compliance through significant institutional and perceptual changes in tax administration.Publication Promoting Nature-Based Tourism for Management of Protected Areas and Elephant Conservation in Sri Lanka(Washington, DC, 2010-06)Sri Lanka's ten-year development framework aims at accelerating economic growth while ensuring a path of sustainable development and prioritizing conservation of the country's natural heritage. It is in this context that this policy note seeks to examine the scope for enhancing protection of Sri Lanka's natural assets through nature based tourism as an instrument for conservation with a specific focus on elephant conservation. This study identifies development opportunities that increase tourism revenues and offers an assessment of the human/elephant conflict, which is the primary impediment to long term elephant conservation.Publication Competitiveness Assessment of Tourism in Sierra Leone : A Cluster-Based Approach(2009-10-01)Seven years out of brutal conflict, Sierra Leone is now a peaceful and stable country. Yet, its strides toward economic recovery and competitiveness have been modest even in sectors such as tourism, which used to be a major generator of foreign exchange revenues prior to the conflict. This paper presents a cluster-based analysis of the tourism sector in Sierra Leone. The analysis shows that tourism in Sierra Leone draws entirely on basic factor conditions such as natural endowments; high-end lodging, catering, and entertainment services are virtually nonexistent. The cluster mapping exercise reveals that several non-profit organizations are present and active within the Sierra Leone tourism cluster but that the role of commercial enterprises has been somewhat limited. A critical mass of basic service providers has emerged over time, but their functions are often hindered by the absence of a market-based incentive regime and weaknesses in backbone infrastructure services. There is a mismatch of effort by the public and private sectors. An important policy implication arising from the analysis is for Sierra Leone to initiate a joint action among tourism entrepreneurs and policymakers to develop a coherent business strategy toward overcoming the bottlenecks of skill deficiency, policy ineffectiveness, and lack of infrastructure and market access.Publication Mongolia Tourism Sector Policy Note(Washington, DC, 2011-03)This report, Strengthening Management of Natural and Cultural Heritage Assets to Scale-up Tourism and Stimulate Local Economic Opportunity was prepared in March 2011. The principal objective of the assignment is to provide policy guidance to decision-makers for strengthening the management of NCS and building a sustainable tourism industry in Mongolia that enhances economic opportunity, especially for local communities.There are several constraints to faster growth of the tourism sector, including: (i) a harsh climate and short tourist season, which is concentrated in the months of June, July and August; (ii) poor quality of infrastructure; (iii) limited international air access to Mongolia; (iv) poor service quality, which is driven by a lack of industry-led guidelines that promote quality standards, and low awareness on what quality and appropriate service culture is; and (v) limited capacity and lack of experienced tourism workforce.Publication Evaluation of Door-to-Door Tax Enforcement Strategy in Indonesia(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-09-10)This paper presents an evaluation of a tax enforcement program conducted in Indonesia where officials from the tax authority visited properties to engage directly with owners about their property tax obligations. Through these visits, auditors explained outstanding debts and payment processes, aiming to improve tax compliance and revenue collection. The paper uses an administrative data set and a new set of machine learning–based techniques to assess the program’s effectiveness. The program was responsible for increasing tax compliance on the extensive margin by 4.3 percent and on the intensive margin by 5.1 percent in the first year it was implemented. These effects are particularly strong as they persist in the following period. The findings show that the visited properties had better compliance history, lower value, smaller area, and were more likely to have some construction on them. A key finding from the analysis is that higher-value properties are less sensitive to the visits. In other words, if a data-driven tax-enforcement strategy is to be applied, then it may focus resources on enforcing taxation at the poorest part of the population in this case. This opens up the discussion of the distributional consequences of an algorithm-based enforcement strategy, which is increasingly important as machine learning techniques are used by tax authorities.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Honduras Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, 2023-05-16)Honduras is highly vulnerable to extreme natural hazards, which are expected to increase because of climate change. These will have significant consequences for all of Honduran society, affecting important economic sectors and threatening food and water security and human health. The impacts of climate change are expected to disproportionately affect the poorest and most vulnerable, such as indigenous peoples and afro‑descendants (IPADs) and women. These impacts will likely compound existing challenges such as migration, internal displacement, and land conflicts and insecurity. Even though Honduras’s contribution to global emissions is significantly low, the country has opportunities to pursue low‑carbon development that will create co‑benefits and foster synergies with climate change adaptation, particularly in the agriculture, water, forestry, energy, and transport sector. This CCDR recommends focusing on a parallel approach of a) cross‑sectoral recommendations in the short term that allow for the creation of an enabling environment for sectoral recommendations in the long term and long term, while b) accelerating policy reforms and investments through a phased approach for priority sectors. This phased approach to sectoral action would help the country gradually enhance ambition while also harnessing the enhanced institutional capacities and increased enabling environment.Publication South Asia’s Digital Opportunity(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-03-27)The report presents both the opportunities of and the bottlenecks for furthering the digital agenda. It emphasizes that the first step is to get the basics right. This includes enabling access to and adoption of high-quality affordable broadband, initiating a paradigm shift in building digital public platforms and accelerating digital financial services. Part of this includes integrating digital ID, digital payments, and data sharing platforms so they can become ‘digital stacks’ that allow service providers to build and innovate their own platforms and systems on top. Supporting digital businesses, fostering digital skills, and creating the necessary trust environment are also critical to the digital agenda. Further, a successful digital agenda at country levels would benefit from regional integration that entails cross-border connectivity, data infrastructure, and payment systems.Publication Women, Business and the Law 2023(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-02)“Women, Business and the Law 2023” is the ninth in a series of annual studies measuring the laws and regulations that affect women’s economic opportunity in 190 economies. The project presents eight indicators structured around women’s interactions with the law as they move through their lives and careers: Mobility, Workplace, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Entrepreneurship, Assets, and Pension. The 2023 edition identifies barriers to women’s economic participation and encourages reform of discriminatory laws. This year, the study also includes research, a literature review, and analysis of 53 years of reforms for women’s rights. Examining the economic decisions that women make throughout their working lives as well as tracking regulatory changes from 1970 to today, the study makes an important contribution to research and policy discussions about the state of women’s economic opportunities. By presenting powerful examples of change and highlighting the gaps still remaining, “Women, Business and the Law 2023” is a vital tool in ensuring economic empowerment for all. Data in “Women, Business and the Law 2023” are current as of October 1, 2022.Publication Municipal Waste Management in Serbia - Situational Analysis(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-04-19)This report provides a baseline analysis of the existing situation in the municipal waste management sector in Serbia and underscores the importance of the sector in terms of achieving Sustainable Cities objectives. Reforms in the waste sector are a key component of a larger government commitment to a Green Transition. Ambitions to significantly improving the solid waste management system, in line with EU requirements, is well reflected in recently adopted policies and plans including the National Waste Management Program for the period2022 – 2031. There is a significant focus on the establishment of much needed basic disposal infrastructure. However, implementation remains slow, and some waste related targets will require further alignment and adjustment as the EU landscape continues to evolve.Publication Impact of Climate Change in Health in Colombia and Recommendations for Mitigation and Adaptation(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-10-18)Climate change has been called the most important threat to human health in the 21st century. It is estimated that if thetemperature rises and its impact on the other climatic variablescontinues unchanged, it will kill more than 83 million people (1 percent of the world’s population) in the next 80 years (Wattset al. 2020)—13 times the toll of the COVID-19 pandemic (WorldHealth Organization 2023). Historically, only pandemics or worldwars have posed such threats to human health. As a result,the issue has aroused unprecedented attention. In 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared climate changethe greatest health threat facing humanity (WHO 2021). Now, more than 195 governments have included climate change mitigation and adaptation as pillars in their multi-year plans, and government health sectors have been developing plans tomeasure and respond to the impact of climate change on health. However, recognition of the links between climate change and health remains nascent, so these efforts have not yet been accompanied by strategic and actionable approaches to measure the impacts and ground the responses. This report contributes to addressing that gap by providing a framework for understandingthe impact of climate change on human health in Colombia and by outlining the most effective actions to mitigate the threat.