Analysis of Barriers to Different Types of Data Sources in Decision Making of Tax Policy Formulation in Zambia

The aim of this study was to analyse data sources in facilitating tax policy formulation in Zambia. The study was guided by specific objectives which were to establish the influence of data sources in tax policy design and identifying barriers in data utilization. A mixed-methods research approach (qualitative and quantitative) was adopted, with 50 key research participants from the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA), Ministry of Finance and tax experts selected through purposive sampling. Primary data were collected using a questionnaire, and data analysis was performed using STATA. The research findings have revealed that there is a relationship between the influence of data sources and the effectiveness of tax policy formulation. About 75% of the research participants agreed that data sources influence has an impact in the quality of tax policy formulation. Chi-square tests revealed a statistically significance between the perceived data sources influence and its effectiveness in policy formulation (χ² = 16.22, p = 0.003). Regression analysis confirmed a strong positive correlation between the data sources influence and the perceived efficiency of the tax policy process (p = 0.0003, F-value = 22.34). The research results show that there is underutilization of available data. About 51% of available data is underutilized. The statistically analysis (χ² = 9.01, p = 0.1732), indicating data underutilization due to the barriers such as political interference, inadequate HR capacity, and lack of legal expertise hinder effective data utilization. Recommendations are to enhance data infrastructure, inter-agency cooperation, technical capacity and the integration of digital data systems.