Mary Abounabhan

Mary Abounabhan

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This profile is also available in French

Biography

Mary Abounabhan is a Researcher working on ICTD’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) research theme. She is also underaking a PhD in practice. Her research focuses on the the appropriateness and effectiveness of digital financial services taxes and their development impacts. She has completed her Masters of Globalisation, Business, and Development at the Institute of Development Studies, focusing her research on the Moral Economy of social media taxation in Lebanon.

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Policy Brief

Taxing the Wealthy in Africa: Evidence from 14 Revenue Administrations

May 2026
Giovanni Occhiali, Ezera Madzivanyika, Mary Abounabhan, Ronald Waiswa

Journal Article

Platform Disempowerment: Business Power and the Taxation of Digital Financial Services

February 2026
Mary Abounabhan, Florence Dafe, Martin Hearson

Partner Publication

Taxing Informal Economies: Practices, Challenges & Ways Forward

December 2024
Ezera Madzivanyika, Ronald Waiswa, Nthabiseng Debeila, Max Gallien, Vanessa van den Boogaard, Mary Abounabhan

Policy Brief

Taxing Mobile Money in Africa: Risk and Reward

July 2024
Martin Hearson, Philip Mader, Mary Abounabhan, Marco Carreras, Awa Diouf, Adrienne Lees, Hannelore Niesten, Fabrizio Santoro, Christopher Wales

Working Paper

What are the Enablers and Impacts of Digital Financial Services? An Updated Evidence Gap Map

July 2024
Philip Mader, Keir Macdonald, Maren Duvendack, Mary Abounabhan, Celeste Scarpini, Hemangi Sharma

Research in Brief

What are the Enablers and Impacts of Digital Financial Services? An Updated Evidence Gap Map

July 2024
Philip Mader, Keir Macdonald, Maren Duvendack, Mary Abounabhan, Celeste Scarpini, Hemangi Sharma
Ghana’s e-levy: 3 lessons from the abolished mobile money tax
1 April 2025

Ghana’s e-levy: 3 lessons from the abolished mobile money tax

The e-levy’s intense politicisation and complex design made it an interesting case of a wider trend of mobile money taxes…
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Taxing mobile money: Five critical strategies for policymakers
23 July 2024

Taxing mobile money: Five critical strategies for policymakers

Revenue authorities, policymakers, industry, and researchers met to explore how taxes on mobile money could be effectively and equitably designed….
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Building trust by earmarking taxes on digital financial services
6 April 2023

Building trust by earmarking taxes on digital financial services

Can earmarking provide an answer to the controversy of taxes on digital financial services such as Ghana’s e-levy? Although an…
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The Ghana e-levy: Can the latest rate reduction win greater public acceptance and increase revenue?
20 February 2023

The Ghana e-levy: Can the latest rate reduction win greater public acceptance and increase revenue?

The reduced tax rate on electronic transactions is unlikely to satisfy Ghanaians given the country’s rising inflation…
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Mobile money tax: Is there a gender gap?
9 January 2023

Mobile money tax: Is there a gender gap?

Gender and tax: As Africa increasingly introduces specific taxes on digital financial services (DFS) such as mobile money, do DFS…
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Ghana’s new e-levy: The sour, sweet and switches so far
4 August 2022

Ghana’s new e-levy: The sour, sweet and switches so far

Introduced in May 2022, Ghana’s e-levy is a 1.5 per cent tax on the transfer amount of electronic transactions. The…
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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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Workshop: Tax and Informal Economies in Africa: Charting Ways Forward

Workshop: Tax and Informal Economies in Africa: Charting Ways Forward

In person

18 February 2025 – 09:00

•

Timezone: Europe/London

Akosombo, Ghana
ICTD is hosting a focused workshop in Akosombo, Ghana from 18th to 21st February 2024 that seeks to chart new ways forward in how revenue authorities engage with informal economies.
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Max Gallien, Martin Hearson, and Mary Abounabhan reflect on Ghana's scrapped e-levy on The Conversation Africa
31 March 2025

Max Gallien, Martin Hearson, and Mary Abounabhan reflect on Ghana’s scrapped e-levy on The Conversation Africa

ICTD researchers Max Gallien, Martin Hearson, and Mary Abounabhan wrote a piece for The Conversation Africa on the lessons learned…

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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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