A Study on Investigating Factors Influencing Non-Adoption in the Zambia Revenue Authority’s e-Tax Payment: A Case Study of Nakonde Boarder Post

Abstract

When the Zambia Revenue Authority introduced the e-tax payment system several years ago, the aim was to ease the filling of tax returns and capture more taxpayers in the tax bracket. This would have ideally resulted in the increase of tax revenues and meeting or surpassing revenue collection targets. Reports of missed revenue collection targets by the ZRA and evasion of tax by potential large tax players are a clear indication that the introduction of the E-tax system has not fulfilled the purpose for which it was intended (Kabaso, 2019). Therefore, this study sought to investigate factors contributing to non-adoption of e-payment in tax filing in Zambia, specifically in the context of the Nakonde border post. The specific objectives were as follows: To find out the perceived usefulness of using an e-tax payment system at the ZRA Nakonde border post, to establish the perceived ease of use of the e-tax payment system at the ZRA Nakonde border post, and to identify the perceived risks of the e-tax payment system at the ZRA Nakonde border post. The research applied a descriptive research design. 52 taxpayers were interviewed from the sets of respondents (taxpayers). The researcher applied purposive random sampling to give every member of the community trading a chance to be interviewed and thus not produce biased or imbalanced data. A total of 52 questionnaires were distributed to small business owners registered with ZRA at Nakonde Border Post. Based on the findings from the study, it was evident that the electronic tax e-payment system has not been adopted due to the perceived use of it, perceived ease of use, and, of course, the perceived risks that come with it for taxpayers to assess their tax obligations accurately and enable them to file their returns on time. The new system was overwhelmed by the number of users, consequently resulting in inconveniences. The study recommends that ZRA upgrade the e-tax servers to calm down the pressure on the current servers. In addition, ZRA should install user-friendly features on the filing websites so as to increase the taxpayers’ interest in using the system.