🇱🇸 Lesotho
Sub-Saharan Africa · ISORA participant · ITTI survey participant
Lesotho employs artificial intelligence and machine-learning risk scoring in practice for tax enforcement. The country does not utilize automated bulk data matching or publicly name non-compliant taxpayers. In 2021, tax revenue accounted for 20.7% of the nation's GDP.Auto-generated summary of the verified data below; every fact traces to a source on this page.
20.7%
tax-to-GDP, general govt (2021, OECD)
3/11
enforcement powers assessed
Where the tax bite lands (2021)
Tax revenue by category, % of GDP, general government — OECD Revenue Statistics (Global).
Who collects it (2021)
| Level of government | % of GDP |
|---|---|
| Central government | 20.7% |
Tax-to-GDP over time
| 2010 | 2019 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| 17.3% | 20.6% | 20.7% |
General government, OECD Revenue Statistics (Global).
Enforcement powers
AI & machine-learning risk scoring Yes — documented practice
Self-reported in the OECD Inventory of Tax Technology Initiatives (2024 Global Survey on Digitalisation).
“Survey question "Administration uses artificial intelligence" — answer: Yes”
Source: OECD Inventory of Tax Technology InitiativesOECD / IMF survey data · derived from the administration’s own survey answer
Automated bulk data matching No — power absent
Self-reported to ISORA (International Survey on Revenue Administration), FY2022.
“ISORA indicator "Administration undertakes fully automated compliance checks based on data matching/analysis" — value: No”
Source: IMF ISORA — International Survey on Revenue AdministrationOECD / IMF survey data · derived from the administration’s own survey answer
Public naming of non-compliant taxpayers No — power absent
Self-reported to ISORA (International Survey on Revenue Administration), FY2022.
“ISORA indicator "Administration is empowered to make public details of some / all taxpayers subject to administrative penalties imposed for non-disclosure" — value: No”
Source: IMF ISORA — International Survey on Revenue AdministrationOECD / IMF survey data · derived from the administration’s own survey answer
Administration self-reported metrics (ISORA)
Reported by the administration itself to the IMF/OECD/CIAT/IOTA International Survey on Revenue Administration. 1 = yes, 0 = no for policy questions.
| Indicator | Year | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, not prefilled - CIT | 2024 | 100 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, not prefilled - PIT | 2024 | 100 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, not prefilled - VAT | 2024 | 100 |
| Population per FTE | 2024 | 11183.84210526316 |
| Labor force per FTE | 2024 | 4230.430622009569 |
| Corporate taxpayers per FTE in LTO/P | 2024 | 38.83333333333333 |
| Active taxpayers on PIT register as percentage of Population | 2024 | — |
| Active taxpayers on PIT register as percentage of Labor Force | 2024 | — |
| Closing stock of collectable arrears as percentage of closing stock of arrears | 2024 | 68.42216130668449 |
| CIT arrears as percentage of CIT collected | 2024 | 5.773179712089343 |
| PIT arrears as percentage of PIT collected | 2024 | 19.61360213483386 |
| PAYE arrears as percentage of PIT collected | 2024 | — |
| VAT arrears as percentage of VAT collected | 2024 | 13.57037448128855 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, fully pre-filled deemed acceptance - CIT | 2021 | 0 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, fully pre-filled confirmation required - CIT | 2021 | 0 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, partially pre-filled with income and/or expense information - CIT | 2021 | 0 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, fully pre-filled deemed acceptance - PIT | 2021 | 0 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, fully pre-filled confirmation required - PIT | 2021 | 0 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, partially pre-filled with income and/or expense information - PIT | 2021 | 0 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, fully pre-filled deemed acceptance - VAT | 2021 | 0 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, fully pre-filled confirmation required - VAT | 2021 | 0 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, partially pre-filled with income and/or expense information - VAT | 2021 | 0 |
| Additional assessments raised through all audits and verification actions as percentage of tax collections | 2024 | 1.887911108824915 |
| Audit hit rate | 2024 | 96.36363636363636 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, not prefilled - PAYE | 2024 | 100 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, prefilled, modified by taxpayer - CIT | 2024 | 0 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, prefilled, not modified by taxpayer - CIT | 2024 | 0 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, prefilled, modified by taxpayer - PIT | 2024 | 0 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, prefilled not modified by taxpayer - PIT | 2024 | 0 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, prefilled, modified by taxpayer - PAYE | 2024 | 0 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, prefilled not modified by taxpayer - PAYE | 2024 | 0 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, prefilled, modified by taxpayer - VAT | 2024 | 0 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, prefilled not modified by taxpayer - VAT | 2024 | 0 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, prefilled Total - CIT | 2024 | 0 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, prefilled Total - PIT | 2024 | 0 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, prefilled Total - PAYE | 2024 | 0 |
| Percentage of tax returns - Electronic, prefilled Total - VAT | 2024 | 0 |
| Availability of specific powers in legislation / regulation to assist in collecting tax arrears | 2022 | 1 |
| Administrative sanctions for taxpayer non-disclosure - Common administrative penalty framework for non-disclosure across the major tax types | 2022 | 1 |
| Administrative sanctions for taxpayer non-disclosure - Penalties imposed generally take account of taxpayers' culpability (i.e. degree of blame) | 2022 | 0 |
| Administrative sanctions for taxpayer non-disclosure - Administration is empowered to remit / reduce penalties in appropriate circumstances | 2022 | 1 |
| Administrative sanctions for taxpayer non-disclosure - Administration is empowered to make public details of some / all taxpayers subject to administrative penalties imposed for non-disclosure | 2022 | 0 |
| On-time filing rate % - CIT | 2024 | — |
| On-time filing rate % - PIT | 2024 | — |
| On-time filing rate % - VAT | 2024 | — |
| On-time filing rate % - PAYE | 2024 | — |
| Administration pre-fills PIT returns or assessments | 2024 | 0 |
| Administration conducts random audits | 2022 | 1 |
| E-filing mandatory - CIT | 2022 | 0 |
| E-filing mandatory - PIT | 2022 | 0 |
| E-filing mandatory - Employer Withholdings | 2022 | 0 |
| E-filing mandatory - VAT | 2022 | 0 |
| E-payment mandatory - CIT | 2022 | 0 |
| E-payment mandatory - PIT | 2022 | 0 |
| E-payment mandatory - Employer Withholdings | 2022 | 0 |
| E-payment mandatory - VAT | 2022 | 0 |
| Employers withholding taxes on behalf of salaried employees | 2024 | 1 |
| Percentage of payments received electronically-By number of payments | 2024 | 95 |
| Percentage of payments received electronically-By value of payments | 2024 | 99 |
| Cooperative compliance approach exists for -Large taxpayers | 2024 | 1 |
| Cooperative compliance approach exists for -HNWI taxpayers | 2024 | 0 |
| Cooperative compliance approach exists for -Other taxpayers | 2024 | 1 |
| Most employees that have tax deducted through direct withholding required to file a return | 2024 | 1 |
| Administration receives data from devices that register transactions | 2024 | 0 |
| Administration uses electronic compliance checks as part of returns filing process | 2024 | 0 |
| Administration has specialized audit staff for international tax issues | 2022 | 0 |
| Administration has systems for importing, storing and managing third-party data - Customs data | 2022 | 1 |
| Administration has systems for importing, storing and managing third-party data - Data from stock exchanges | 2022 | 0 |
| Administration has systems for importing, storing and managing third-party data - Data from the Social Security Agency | 2022 | 0 |
| Administration has systems for importing, storing and managing third-party data - Data from online (internet-based) vendors | 2022 | 0 |
| Administration has systems for importing, storing and managing third-party data - Data from Utilities | 2022 | 0 |
| Administration checks the quality of data reported by third parties on a systematic basis | 2022 | 0 |
| Administration has systems for importing, storing and managing third-party data - Data on property ownership and sales | 2022 | 0 |
| Administration undertakes fully automated compliance checks based on data matching/analysis | 2022 | 0 |
| Administration measures the effectiveness of any compliance interventions undertaken | 2022 | 0 |
| Administration has standards for auditor productivity | 2022 | 1 |
Tax technology survey answers (OECD ITTI)
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Personal income tax returns are automatically prefilled with income information | Yes |
| Value added tax returns are automatically prefilled with information on sales transactions (and output VAT) | Yes |
| Administration requires individuals to use an approved digital identity to access secure digital services | No |
| Administration requires businesses to use an approved digital identity to access secure digital services | No |
| Administration automatically prefills personal income tax returns with data that it has collected | Yes |
| Administration automatically prefills corporate income tax returns with data that it has collected | No |
| Administration automatically prefills value added tax returns with data that it has collected | Yes |
| For certain personal income taxpayers, the administration prefills tax returns with all necessary data so that they do not need to change the return | No |
| For certain value added taxpayers, the administration prefills tax returns with all necessary data so that they do not need to change the return | Yes |
| Online marketplaces (incl. sharing and gig economy) | No |
| Other online platforms, e.g. stock trading, currencies (incl. crypto). | No |
| Taxpayer accounting systems | Yes |
| E-invoicing systems | Yes |
| Online cash registers | Yes |
| Other government entities | Yes |
| Private entities such as banks and insurance companies | No |
| Other jurisdictions (beyond data received under CRS, FATCA and DAC) | No |
| Administration has a comprehensive data management strategy | Yes |
| Administration assesses data quality of reported data | Yes |
| Administration has in place a data ethics framework | No |
| Administration controls user data access and security | Yes |
| Administration automatically detects unauthorised access | No |
| Administration employs a Data Privacy Officer | No |
| Administration has a cyber security unit | Yes |
| Administration hires external parties to test the security of its systems | Yes |
| Administration uses artificial intelligence as part of the data governance process | No |
| Administration has big data capabilities with the necessary people, skills and infrastructure | Yes |
| Administration uses an enterprise-wide Business Intelligence and Visualisation tool | Yes |
| Administration uses analytics for real-time tax fraud detection and prevention | No |
| Cloud storage | Yes |
| Robotic process automation | No |
| Artificial intelligence | No |
| Machine learning | Yes |
| Network analysis | No |
| DataOps approach | No |
| Automated provision of personalised information to stakeholders | No |
| Virtual assistants | Yes |
| Risk assessment processes | Yes |
| Detection of tax evasion and fraud | No |
| Assistance of tax officials in making administrative decisions | No |
| Making recommendations for actions | No |
| Making of final administrative decisions | No |
| Dispute resolution | No |
| To ensure the integrity of tax administration systems / processes | No |
| Other use cases | No |
| Administration reviews artificial intelligence source code | No |
| Administration reviews artificial intelligence input information | No |
| Administration probes and tests artificial intelligence responses | No |
| Administration monitors artificial intelligence outputs | No |
| Administration takes other approaches | No |
| Third party reviews artificial intelligence source code | No |
| Third party reviews artificial intelligence input information | No |
| Third party probes and tests artificial intelligence responses | No |
| Third party monitors artificial intelligence outputs | No |
| Third party takes other approaches | No |
| Administration offers online service for registering for tax (CIT) | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for registering for tax (PIT) | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for registering for tax (VAT) | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for filing tax returns (CIT) | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for filing tax returns (PIT) | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for filing tax returns (VAT) | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for making tax payments (CIT) | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for making tax payments (PIT) | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for making tax payments (VAT) | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for requesting extensions of deadlines (filing and payment) (CIT) | No |
| Administration offers online service for requesting extensions of deadlines (filing and payment) (PIT) | No |
| Administration offers online service for requesting extensions of deadlines (filing and payment) (VAT) | No |
| Administration offers online service for asking for tax payment arrangements (CIT) | No |
| Administration offers online service for asking for tax payment arrangements (PIT) | No |
| Administration offers online service for asking for tax payment arrangements (VAT) | No |
| Administration offers online service for asking confidential enquiries in a secure environment (CIT) | No |
| Administration offers online service for asking confidential enquiries in a secure environment (PIT) | No |
| Administration offers online service for asking confidential enquiries in a secure environment (VAT) | No |
| Administration offers online service for filing tax related objections (CIT) | No |
| Administration offers online service for filing tax related objections (PIT) | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for filing tax related objections (VAT) | No |
| Administration offers online service for dealing with correspondence (CIT) | No |
| Administration offers online service for dealing with correspondence (PIT) | No |
| Administration offers online service for dealing with correspondence (VAT) | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for uploading data into the tax administration's system (CIT) | No |
| Administration offers online service for uploading data into the tax administration's system (PIT) | Yes |
| Administration offers online service for uploading data into the tax administration's system (VAT) | Yes |
| Administration offers specific approaches to those that do not have online access | Yes |
| Administration offers facility for taxpayers to interact with virtual assistants, such as chatbots | No |
| Administration uses artificial intelligence during interactions with taxpayers (other than virtual assistants) | No |
| Administration offers services that follow a set of pre-programmed and automated service responses during interactions with taxpayers (other than virtual assistants) | No |
| Administration makes a library of APIs publicly available for third party use | Yes |
| Jurisdiction simplified tax rules to allow for the prefilling of returns with all necessary data | Yes |
| Administration has an enterprise data management (governance) system that allows taxpayer information be viewed across the administration | No |
| Administration uses big data for analytical purposes | Yes |
| Administration uses artificial intelligence / machine learning as part of the big data analysis | Yes |
| Administration uses artificial intelligence | Yes |
| Limitations exist on the use of artificial intelligence | Yes |
| Administration has an ethical framework for the application of artifical intelligence | No |
| Administration uses Distributed Ledger Technology, e.g. blockchain, in its taxation processes | No |
| Use of big data to: Improve compliance | Yes |
| Use of big data to: Identify trends | Yes |
| Use of big data to: Policy forecasting | Yes |
| Use of big data to: Revenue forecasting | Yes |
| Use of big data to: Provide new services | Yes |