Active Ghosts: Nil-filing in Rwanda

Nil-filing refers to taxpayers reporting zero in all fields of their tax declaration. It is a largely ignored phenomenon the public finance literature, despite being well known administrators and widespread: half registered corporations Rwanda file nil. This paper sheds light on this issue, using descriptive analysis administrative data, randomised controlled trial (RCT), qualitative interviews with officials. We argue that major reason for nil-filing lies at intersection between aggressive recruitment campaigns by Revenue Authority (RRA) taxpayers’ response complex often confusing system. Through lens nil-filing, we also shed some practical challenges administration low-income countries more generally. By doing this, challenge prevailing narrative governments should always expand base small yet unregistered firms, showing previously undocumented – unintended consequences such strategy.