Programme
DIGITAX Research Programme
The DIGITAX programme generated knowledge and evidence as well as delivered advice and support to governments and other stakeholders on overcoming challenges and leveraging opportunities at the interface of digital financial services (DFS), digital IDs, and tax.
Our robust, relevant, and cutting-edge research looked at:
• the taxation of mobile money and other DFS, and;
• the digitalisation of tax systems across lower-income countries, with a particular focus on Africa.
DIGITAX, which ran from 2020 to 2024, was funded by the Gates Foundation.
Key Resources
Opinion and Analysis
How digital public infrastructure could transform tax administration in Africa
News
ICTD launches DFS TaxMap: A comprehensive visualisation tool on taxation of digital financial services in Africa
Publication
Taxing Mobile Money in Africa: Risk and Reward
DIGITAX Research Programme Library
Media coverage
ICTD blog on digital IDs and tax administration in Ethiopia cited in media reports
Opinion and Analysis
Tax incentives for digital payments – Lessons for African tax administration organisations
Opinion and Analysis
Ethiopia’s national digital ID: A breakthrough for tax system transformation?
Fayda, Ethiopia’s new digital identification (ID) system, comes with big potential for the country’s tax administrations, which lose significant amounts…
Opinion and Analysis
Broadening the tax horizon through information: the power of third-party data for African tax administrations
It is fair to say that taxation cannot exist without information. To calculate taxes and enforce compliance, tax administrations need…
Media coverage
DIGITAX workshop on taxing mobile money garners media attention in Ghana
News
Insights on Ghana’s e-levy: What do we know nearly two years on?
News
Leveraging Technology for Enhanced Tax Administration: Insights from the 2nd RRA Research Conference
On February 9, 2024, the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) and the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) co-hosted the…
News
What have we learnt about taxing mobile money in Africa? Martin Hearson and Awa Diouf share lessons from DIGITAX research programme
As more African governments turn to the growing digital financial services (DFS) sector – specifically mobile money – to help…
Opinion and Analysis
The digitalisation journey of tax administrations – Insights from the Network of Tax Organisations (NTO) Conference
Webinar
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Timezone: Europe/London
Virtual
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Timezone: Europe/London
In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, cash-strapped governments across Africa will be looking for ways to fill revenue gaps. Having long faced challenges in taxing large multinational corporations and significant informal economic activities, they may be tempted to raise