Digital Transformation Mechanisms in the Iraqi Tax Authority and the Challenges Facing Them

Abstract

Recent developments in the modern digital world pose significant challenges to tax administrations with respect to their traditional methods of dealing with taxpayers. At the same time, these developments offer new opportunities for tax authorities to enhance tax collection, support taxpayers, and promote tax compliance through the use of emerging technologies and digital tools. This can be achieved through comprehensive, technology-based tax reform, both in terms of tax administration and the imposition of new forms of taxation. This study is grounded in a central research question concerning the adequacy of the current Iraqi legal and legislative framework in keeping pace with the requirements of a transition toward an effective digital tax administration capable of achieving efficiency in tax collection, enhancing transparency, and reducing tax evasion. The Iraqi legislative framework suffers from clear shortcomings in accommodating the requirements of digitalization, particularly with regard to the legal validity of electronic documents, the protection of tax data, and the regulation of digital tax services. This situation necessitates urgent legislative intervention, the adoption of an integrated national strategy for digital tax transformation, and the enactment of a dedicated legal framework governing digital tax administration. In addition, it requires the development of technical infrastructure and the strengthening of human capacities in order to achieve a modern tax administration characterized by efficiency, transparency, and legal certainty.