A Systematic Introduction to Tax and Technology

Despite the growing interest of the international tax community, tax and technology still does not have clear definitional boundaries within the outline of academic disciplines. On these premises, this contribution aims to provide a first systematic approach to this knowledge area starting from a comprehensive review and taxonomy of the literature in the field. In this direction, the conceptual analysis of the scholars’ work reveals the following key aspects characterizing the area of tax and technology: the interconnection with the law and technology theory, the supranational dimension centred on the adoption of soft law instruments, the existence of well-defined legal grounds consisting of the principle of tax equity and the principle of tax efficiency, as well as the use of a specific methodology focusing on functional analysis, interdisciplinary research and the de iure ferenda perspective. Based on these findings, it results that tax and technology, although not founded on its exclusive principles, presents a sufficient degree of autonomy to be considered as an academic subdiscipline under the main umbrella of tax law studies. In the end, the author puts in evidence the opportunities arising from such a systematic approach by considering the potential impact on both research and education.