Research in Brief

103

Are Trade Rules Undermining Taxation of the Digital Economy in Africa?

This publication is also available in French

Are Trade Rules Undermining Taxation of the Digital Economy in Africa?

In the face of emerging and new digital business models, countries are facing a political and technical choice of adapting the existing taxation instruments of corporate income tax (CIT) and value added tax (VAT) or creating new ones, such as digital services taxes (DSTs) and customs duties on electronic transmissions (CDETs). Countries have the potential to tax the digital economy through a combination of at least these four measures, which can be incorporated into their industrial policy and revenue collection strategies.

Publication Details

Date

Publisher

Research theme

Share

Citation

Banga, K. and Beyleveld, A. (2024) Are Trade Rules Undermining Taxation of the Digital Economy in Africa?, ICTD Research in Brief 103, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies, DOI: 10.19088/ICTD.2024.013

More resources

Authors

Related Publications

Journal Article

Trading away tax sovereignty? How trade rules shape taxation of the digital economy in Africa

March 2025
Karishma Banga, Alexander Beyleveld, Martin Luther Munu

Partner Publication

A Fairer Global Tax Architecture

September 2024
Martin Hearson, Frederik Heitmüller, Mbakiso Magwape, Suranjali Tandon

Research in Brief

State Visibility and the Fiscal Contract: Experimental Evidence from Tanzania

August 2026
Revocatus Paul, Jonathan Karver, Christopher Hoy, Ephraim Mdee, Massaga Fimbo, Zain Chaudry

Research in Brief

Coherence of Kenya’ Fiscal Policy with Climate Change Targets: an Analytical Review

June 2026
Catherine Ngina Mutava, Linda Muthoni