Siddhesh Rao

I am a postdoctoral researcher at Copenhagen Business School (PhD, International Tax Law, WU Vienna). My work sits at the intersection of tax law, artificial intelligence, and business strategy. I study how AI, advanced analytics, and blockchain can modernise tax administration while safeguarding transparency, taxpayer rights, and the rule of law. The aim is clear: make digital transformation in taxation fair, trusted, and pro-competitiveness. 

My work helps 

Governments design responsible, data-driven tax systems that improve compliance without eroding rights. 

Companies govern AI-enabled tax functions ethically and align them with strategy and regulation. 

Emerging economies curb illicit financial flows via beneficial-ownership transparency and capacity building. 

Citizens benefit from fairer, more predictable tax systems that support sustainable development. 

I combine doctrinal legal analysis with comparative policy research and practical implementation. I have collaborated with the World Bank, UNCTAD, and UNODC to craft frameworks that counter tax avoidance and illicit finance, and to build institutional capacity especially in developing and emerging economies.  

A current strand of my work is a Digital Taxpayers’ Rights Charter, a model set of safeguards for privacy-by-design, proportional data use, due process in automated decision-making, explainability and contestability of algorithmic assessments, human oversight, and independent auditability. 

I am the author of two books: 

Defining Beneficial Ownership: Implications for Preventing Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion Related IFFs in Africa (Wolters Kluwer, 2025) 

Taxing Crime: A Whole-of-Government Approach to Fighting Corruption, Money Laundering, and Tax Crimes (World Bank, 2022) - coauthored 

 I host the CBS “Futures of Tax” series, where i invite prominent tax experts to explore pressing tax issues impacting governments, businesses, and academia. The aim of the Future of Tax is to foster inclusive policy debates, encouraging diverse perspectives from various fields. 

I also convene international focus groups on client–attorney privilege in tax, and teach case-based courses on AI in the boardroom and platform business models. My vision is to help build trusted, digitally enabled tax states institutions that use AI responsibly, protect due process, and strengthen both fiscal fairness and competitiveness, especially in and with the Global South.