Research Theme
Informality and Tax
While research has historically focused on formal systems of taxation and user fees, there is mounting evidence of the importance of “informal” taxation for average taxpayers in much of Africa. While lying outside of statutory laws, the “tax-like” payments – which include informal user fees, informal contributions to community development projects, and informal payments to both state and non-state officials – impose a significant burden on many taxpayers, while playing a critical role in financing local public goods and services and shaping broader local governance.
Our research aims to map the extent, composition and experiences of these payments, and to understand their implications for livelihoods, fiscal decentralisation, service delivery and broader local governance reform. One strand of our work looks closely at taxation in fragile settings, examining the challenges, risks, and opportunities it presents for peacebuilding, state-building, and citizen engagement.
We have also established a Community of Practice on Informality and Tax, a global network of practitioners and scholars committed to improving both knowledge and policy on how tax authorities engage with informal economies.
Key Resources
Informality and Tax Library
Taxpayers’ perceptions on local government taxation in Sierra Leone
The Centre for Economic Research and Capacity Building (CERCB), just concluded a week-long regional dialogue workshops, where findings on recent…
ICTD Supports New Project On Conflict And Taxation In Congo
The International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) is supporting two new and important projects in the Democratic Republic of…
Five recommended reads on gender and tax for International Women’s Day 2026
This International Women’s Day, we highlight the role of fiscal policy in advancing gender equality and the research that helps…
ICTD, WIEGO extend research partnership on informal sector taxation
ICTD launches new community of practice on informality and tax
Revenue authorities, researchers and civil society actors now have a space to map new ways for policymakers to engage with…
Launch of new project on armed group taxation
Hosted by the United Nations University-World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank and…
ICTD launches new collaborative project exploring tax policy in Ghana’s informal sector
G20 Brazil: How does taxation fit into the agenda?
Webinar
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Timezone: CET
The second webinar of the ATI-ICTD Tax and Informality series answers the questions: how can tax policies more effectively target higher-income earners within informal sectors? What role can targeting and risk-based registration play? How can the taxation of professionals be
Webinar
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Timezone: UTC+2
As of 2024, 50% of the world’s extreme poor lived in fragility, conflict and violence affected countries, and this figure is only projected to increase in the coming years. Fragile and conflict-affected contexts present some of the most complex challenges
Virtual
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Timezone: East Africa Time
ICTD Senior Research Fellow, Vanessa van den Boogaard, will be speaking at a webinar hosted by the Local Public Sector Alliance Gender Equity and Women’s Empowerment Working Group and Subnational Finance Working Group, in partnership with The Hague Academy for
Virtual
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Timezone: Europe/Gibraltar
How effective are the most common approaches to taxing informal sectors? What does the available evidence tell us about their implications for revenue administration, efficiency, and equity? What are the key issues to consider for reform or for developing new
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