Reflection of digital transformation on tax burden

Abstract

The paper is aimed at discussing an important problem - the taxation mechanism which is not used sufficiently today to develop the digital economy in a given country. The tax regime is analyzed as a whole., In addition, indirect and direct taxation are looked into for two groups of countries: frontrunners and adopters. The countries were distributed into groups taking into account the data of Global Connectivity Index 2018. It is shown that the tax burden differs in the groups of countries that have different pace of digital transformation. Moreover, the tax burden in the frontrunner countries is higher than it is in the adopter countries. The adopters demonstrate a steady downward trend. In the adopter countries, the tax burden of direct income taxes imposed on business is lower than in the frontrunner countries, while the burden of indirect taxes is higher. In dynamics, the burden of indirect taxes grew in most countries of both groups. However, the largest increase in indirect taxes is typical for the adopters. Changes in the burden of direct taxes businesses have to pay in the adopter countries are less uniform. This may be caused by different approaches that are used to stimulate digital transformation: using tax instruments or providing direct government support. According to the study, the need for reforming profit taxation in Russia is substantiated in order to enhance the stimulating effects of digitalization. The assessment of the nexuses between digital transformation and individual taxation parameters is of great interest.