DİJİTALLEŞMENİN VERGİ GELİRLERİ, VERGİ UYUM SÜREÇLERİ VE VERGİ POLİTİKALARI ÜZERİNDEKİ ETKİLERİ: SEÇİLMİŞ ÜLKELER ÜZERİNE BİR İNCELEME (ALMANYA, FRANSA, ABD, İSVEÇ)
THE EFFECTS OF DIGITALIZATION ON TAX REVENUES, TAX COMPLIANCE PROCESSES AND TAX POLICIES: AN ANALYSIS OF SELECTED COUNTRIES (GERMANY, FRANCE, USA, SWEDEN)

Summary/Abstract: This study examines the effects of digitalisation on tax revenues, tax compliance processes, and tax policies using the examples of Germany, France, the United States, and Sweden. The findings reveal that digitalisation presents significant opportunities for tax systems while also bringing structural challenges. The acceleration of the digitalisation process in the 21st century as a result of technological advances is causing fundamental transformations in the financial structure of societies and public policies. This transformation is causing various problems for public policies. Digital platforms, technological devices, and other digital developments call into question the effectiveness of traditional tax systems, making new fiscal regulations necessary to ensure fair taxation. The fact that digitalisation has become a fundamental part of society and that technology is widely used in many areas of economic activity, including the purchase of goods and services, is reshaping the structure of tax revenues, tax compliance processes, and the tax policies of states. Digitalisation has different effects on the tax systems of each country. In developed countries, digitalisation has enabled tax administrations to become more efficient, transparent, and sustainable, and the strengthening of digital infrastructure has increased tax compliance and eliminated negative effects on public revenues. Advanced data analytics applications in the US, high-automation electronic filing systems in Sweden, strengthened digital audit mechanisms in Germany, and mandatory e-invoicing regulations in France stand out as successful examples in this process. According to the 2024 IMD World Digital Competitiveness Index data, the US ranks first, while Sweden, Germany, and France are among the top fifteen. Turkey ranks 47th, clearly highlighting the gap between it and developed countries in terms of digitalisation performance. The different approaches adopted by countries reveal the impact of digital transformation on tax revenues, compliance processes, and policy-making. Germany's approach prioritising international cooperation, France's proactive and unilateral Digital Services Tax application, the United States' differing strategies at federal and state levels, and Sweden's high automation-based solutions reveal the diversity of institutional and political responses to digitalisation. This study also addresses the effects of digitalisation on international tax policies, with current developments and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiatives establishing global frameworks for preventing profit shifting and tax base erosion. In this context, the developed ‘Two-Pillar Approach’ presents global solutions for the fair taxation of multinational companies operating in the digital economy and aims to implement a global corporate tax rate of at least 15%. The digitalisation process presents opportunities for increasing tax revenues, ensuring compliance, and strengthening audit capacity, but it also brings with it many risks, such as erosion of the tax base, profit shifting, data security, and lack of regulatory harmonisation. The rapid growth of e-commerce, the platform economy, and digital service providers has rendered traditional tax systems inadequate. Although new opportunities have been created through indirect taxes such as value-added tax, the issue of where the revenues of multinational companies should be taxed remains one of the biggest obstacles to fair taxation. In this context, comprehensively addressing the impact of digitalisation on taxation is not only crucial for increasing public revenues but also a strategic necessity for building a fair, inclusive, and sustainable fiscal system.

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