Tax Administration and Compliance

Research Theme

Tax Administration and Compliance

Many of the challenges low-income countries face in mobilising domestic resources are related to tax administration as much as tax policy. Our research on this theme encompasses all aspects of tax administration, from technology adoption, to data management and strategies for collecting revenue from different types of taxpayers. Tax compliance is a key focus, as low-income countries struggle with widespread evasion, corruption, and limited administrative capacity. Our research on compliance includes survey-based studies of taxpayers’ perceptions and attitudes, case studies, and large-scale field experiments.

Tax Administration and Compliance

Led By

Tax Administration and Compliance Library

Journal Article

Tax obsessions: Taxpayer registration and the informal sector in sub-Saharan Africa

May 2022
Mick Moore

Working Paper

Mandating Digital Tax Tools as a Response to Covid: Evidence from Eswatini

May 2022
Fabrizio Santoro, Razan Amine, Tanele Magongo

Journal Article

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

April 2022
Giulia Mascagni, Adrienne Lees

Journal Article

Active Ghosts: Nil-filing in Rwanda

April 2022
Giulia Mascagni, Fabrizio Santoro, Denis Mukama, John Karangwa, Naphtal Hakizimana

Journal ArticlePartner Publication

Local Elites as State Capacity: How City Chiefs Use Local Information to Increase Tax Compliance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

March 2022
Pablo Balán, Augustin Bergeron, Gabriel Tourek, Jonathan Weigel

BookPartner Publication

Innovations in Tax Compliance: Building Trust, Navigating Politics, and Tailoring Reform

February 2022
Roel Dom, Anna Custers, Stephen Davenport, Wilson Prichard

Working Paper

Digital financial services and digital IDs: What potential do they have for better taxation in Africa?

February 2022
Fabrizio Santoro, Laura Muñoz Perez, Wilson Prichard, Giulia Mascagni

Working Paper

Should Governments Tax Digital Financial Services? A Research Agenda to Understand Sector-Specific Taxes on DFS

February 2022
Laura Muñoz Perez, Giulia Mascagni, Wilson Prichard, Fabrizio Santoro

Working Paper

The Promise and Limitations of Information Technology for Tax Mobilisation

February 2022
Oyebola Okunogbe, Fabrizio Santoro

Journal Article

The Rise of China and Contestation in Global Tax Governance

January 2022
Martin Hearson, Rasmus Corlin Christensen

Journal Article

Tax Compliance in Rwanda: Evidence from a Message Field Experiment

December 2021
Giulia Mascagni, Christopher Nell

Working Paper

Glimpses of Fiscal States in sub-Saharan Africa

November 2021
Mick Moore

Virtual

19 August 2026 – 11:00

•

Timezone: UTC

This webinar will bring together researchers and practitioners to examine what AI adoption means in practice for African tax administrations and which applications need stronger DPI foundations.

Virtual

15 December 2025 – 15:00

•

Timezone: Europe/London

ICTD Research Fellow Giovanni Occhiali will join a high-level panel during the launch of Tax Justice Network’s ‘Admin Data for Tax Justice’ database.

Virtual

3 September 2025 – 03:30

•

Timezone: UTC

ICTD Research Fellow Mick Moore will be speaking at Arutha’s Debt & Tax Dialogue on fair and efficient tax solutions on 3rd of September.

In person

3 December 2024 – 10:00

•

Timezone: America/New_York

United Nations Headquarters, East 45th Street, New York, NY, USA
The ICTD will be hosting a side event at the Second Preparatory Committee Session of the Financing for Development Conference.

Current

Investigating the Inclusion of Welfare Issues in the IMF’s Tax Policy Agenda: A Quantitative Analysis of Article IV Consultation Reports

Start date: 01/08/2025

Current

Extent and Distributional Implications of Non-Compliance with Local and National Taxes among Firms in Kampala, Uganda

Start date: 01/07/2022

Current

The Politics of Tax Reform in Pakistan

Start date: 05/01/2026

Current

Tracking Tax Compliance: Evaluating Pakistan’s Track and Trace System

Start date: 01/09/2025

Current

Navigating Tax Compliance in Pakistan: The Role of Heuristics in Self-Reporting Systems

Start date: 10/02/2025

Current

One-stop Shops as Intermediaries Between Digital States and Non-digital Populations

Start date: 11/11/2025

Current

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Experimental evidence of tax advice in Rwanda

Start date: 02/12/2024

Current

Collection Cost and Revenue: Evaluating the Cost-Effectiveness of Administration of the Tax Stamp in Ghana

Start date: 01/10/2024

Current

The Politics and Practice of Tax Targets

Start date: 10/07/2024

Current

Tax Officials and Tax Compliance: Attitudes to Enforcement and Implications on Taxpayer Compliance

Start date: 01/01/2022

Current

What Impacts Do Tax Agents Have on Taxpayer Compliance in Uganda? Evidence from eTax – Phase 2

Start date: 01/08/2026

Current

Artificial Intelligence for Smarter Tax Administration: Opportunities, Limits, and Evidence from Zambia – Phase 1

Start date: 01/01/2026
Alex Kombat
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Research Affiliate
Hannelore Niesten
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Associate Postdoctoral Fellow
Jalia Kangave
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Associate Research Fellow
Lucia Rossel
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Research Affiliate
Mick Moore
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Research Fellow & Publications Editor
Moyo Arewa
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Programme Director, LoGRI
Ronald Waiswa
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Research Affiliate
Samuel Jibao
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Research Affiliate
Wilson Prichard
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Associate Research Fellow, ICTD and Chair, LoGRI

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