Research within Tax Administration: from Monitoring Revenue to Influencing Policy

This paper discusses the role played by research departments within tax administration, drawing on the experiences of officials from eight African revenue authorities. While high quality research is important for evidence-based policymaking, it is often overlooked. We explore several key challenges faced by researchers within tax administration, including staff capacity, data quality, access and coverage, and obtaining high-level support and policy impact. We also document solutions and success stories based on the experience of these eight revenue authorities, where scarce resources have been focused to maximise the benefits of research and administrative data. Finally, we develop a toolkit of options to enhance research capacity and its strategic role to guide reform.