Project management with high complexity and uncertainty in a government organization: A case study of the Sao Paulo Tax Invoice system development

This case study analyzes the development of an incentive system to avoid fiscal evasion. It is named Sao Paulo Tax Invoice. It is an innovative way to use Information Technology (IT) to enforce tax collect in the retail sector. It was started in 2007 by the State of Sao Paulo Treasury. The government stimulates product buyers to ask for a tax receipt, at the checkout on retail stores, by returning to them a percentage of the tax paid by the store. Every six months the treasury calculates a tax devolution and consumers can register online and choose to receive the money directly on a bank account or through a state´s tax deduction. Another incentive is an automatic lottery draw system that distribute money prizes and rewards to assiduous users. These became the motto of the marketing campaign, “the more you ask, the more you gain”, with massive advertising, including television commercials, resulting in more than 17 million users registered. The objective of this paper is to address this initiative origin and its development process. Our results show that due to the political importance and many uncertainties involved, the project leader adopted a non conventional project management approach. Studies suggest there was a 22% increase in fiscal revenue in first years, indicating the system´s success.