Adrienne Lees

Adrienne Lees

  • Researcher
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This profile is also available in French

Biography

Dr Adrienne Lees is a Researcher at the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD), working primarily on projects relating to tax administration and compliance. She was previously an ODI Fellow in the Tax Policy Department at the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development in Uganda. Adrienne holds an MSc in Economics for Development from the University of Oxford and is completing her PhD in Economics at the University of Sussex.

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Research in Brief

There and Back Again: The Making of Uganda’s Mobile Money Tax

October 2021
Adrienne Lees, Doris Akol

Working Paper

There and Back Again: The Making of Uganda’s Mobile Money Tax

July 2021
Doris Akol, Adrienne Lees

Research in Brief

The Economic Impact of the Pandemic in Rwanda: An Analysis of Firm-level VAT Data

May 2021
Giulia Mascagni, Adrienne Lees

African Tax Administration Paper

Using administrative data to assess the impact of the pandemic in low-income countries: An application with VAT data in Rwanda

March 2021
Giulia Mascagni, Adrienne Lees

Partner Publication

Simulating the Impact of COVID-19 on Formal Firms in South Africa

December 2020
Adrienne Lees, Giulia Mascagni, Michael Kilumelume

Partner Publication

Simulating the Impact of Covid-19 on Formal Firms in Eswatini

September 2020
Adrienne Lees, Giulia Mascagni, Fabrizio Santoro
The Panopticon taxman: How digital surveillance is impacting tax compliance in Uganda
17 February 2026

The Panopticon taxman: How digital surveillance is impacting tax compliance in Uganda

In the 18th century, philosopher Jeremy Bentham envisioned the panopticon: a circular prison where guards could observe all inmates without…

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Uganda’s tax system is a drain on small businesses: how to set them free
11 June 2025

Uganda’s tax system is a drain on small businesses: how to set them free

The complexity of Uganda’s tax system makes for a time-consuming tax filing process, compounded by low taxpayer knowledge and high…
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Five reflections from a writing retreat
11 April 2024

Five reflections from a writing retreat

Two of ICTD’s PhD students, Adrienne Lees and Sripriya Srivatsa, recently spent three days at Gladstone’s Library in North Wales…

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Tackling the hidden costs of taxation: Can digitalisation help?
14 April 2023

Tackling the hidden costs of taxation: Can digitalisation help?

Non-compliance can be down to more than just intentional evasion – taxpaying can be time-consuming, complicated and costly. Tackling compliance…
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Can real-time electronic invoicing fix VAT's problem?
12 April 2023

Can real-time electronic invoicing fix VAT’s problem?

VAT’s self-enforcement mechanism is powerful and also its greatest weakness. In Rwanda, China and Ethiopia, e-invoicing systems show promising early…
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To tax or not to tax mobile money? The impact on digital financial services in Africa and beyond
3 August 2022

To tax or not to tax mobile money? The impact on digital financial services in Africa and beyond

“Designing better tax policies for DFS requires understanding the factors that enable using DFS, and its potential impacts” writes Adrienne…
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ICTD reading list recommendations for International Women's Day 2026
12 March 2026

ICTD reading list recommendations for International Women’s Day 2026

For International Women’s Day 2026, women across the ICTD team have shared a selection of books that have stayed with…
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ICTD early-career researchers submit PhDs, advancing tax research in low-income countries
10 March 2026

ICTD early-career researchers submit PhDs, advancing tax research in low-income countries

The International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) is proud to announce that two of its early-career researchers, Adrienne Lees…

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Championing evidence-based policymaking: URA hosts its first Research Day
11 November 2025

Championing evidence-based policymaking: URA hosts its first Research Day

Recognising the risk inherent in the pressure to raise more revenue quickly, and the need for research-informed approaches, the URA…
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ICTD team reading list recommendations for 2024
20 December 2024

ICTD team reading list recommendations for 2024

Throughout the year ICTD team members have been curating monthly reading lists with thought-provoking books covering a wide range of…

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Webinar: Getting Targets Right - How much tax can low-income countries raise?

Webinar: Getting Targets Right – How much tax can low-income countries raise?

Virtual

17 April 2024 – 14:00

•

Timezone: UTC

A panel of researchers and practitioners are set to discuss the role that targets can play in building tax capacity. Are optimistic targets helpful or hurtful? And how can we make targets better?
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16 October 2026

Adrienne Lees co-authors The Conversation Africa piece on VAT digtalisation in South Africa

ICTD Researcher Adrienne Lees, along with Amina Ebrahim, Ada Jansen, and Maria Jouste, published a piece at The Conversation Africa…

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Adrienne Lees pens piece on tax compliance costs for Ugandan firms for The Conversation Africa
11 June 2025

Adrienne Lees pens piece on tax compliance costs for Ugandan firms for The Conversation Africa

ICTD Doctoral Fellow Adrienne Lees published a blog on the cost of tax compliance for small and medium-sized enterprises in…
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ICTD brief on taxing mobile money in Africa cited in Agence Ecofin article
30 August 2024

ICTD brief on taxing mobile money in Africa cited in Agence Ecofin article

“While taxing monile money services in Africa could increase government revenue, it may negatively impact the poorest households if small…
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Adrienne Lees quoted in The Economist for DIGITAX research
21 October 2022

Adrienne Lees quoted in The Economist for DIGITAX research

Researcher Adrienne Lees was quoted in The Economist on the 13th of October 2022 for her work on the Ghana…

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