ABSTRACT
According to an International Monetary Fund study published in 2017, the informal sector is a sizeable component of many sub-Saharan African economies. The truth is that the informal sector is where the most brutal forces of the market take place without institutions and the role of law to contain and guide them. Taxing informal enterprises could be an effective way to increase the ratio of direct taxes to gross domestic product – which averages 6% in Africa, compared with 22% in developed countries – but only if it does not stifle those companies. In reality, new technology is an instrument, a facilitator. States cannot in any case use them to avoid their obligations. That includes, notably, the construction of infrastructure that is indispensable for new technologies to spread in the heart of rural areas. Without a doubt, new technologies will play a role in the industrialisation of our countries and give decisive momentum to the informal sector.
