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.
Key Resources
Tax Administration and Compliance Library
Can a digital stamp fix Pakistan’s significant tax gap?
Buy a pack of cigarettes in Pakistan today, and there is a one-in-three chance it carries no valid tax stamp….
Are tax administrations AI-ready? Lessons from ICTD’s Forum on the Future of Tax Reform
The new World Bank World Development Report argues that tax administration is one of the more plausible early use cases…
Using technology to encourage voluntary compliance: Digital Eye in Pakistan
The IRD is finding its mojo
The Panopticon taxman: How digital surveillance is impacting tax compliance in Uganda
In the 18th century, philosopher Jeremy Bentham envisioned the panopticon: a circular prison where guards could observe all inmates without…
From agriculture to tax: How the ICTD course changed one man’s career
Rethinking mass tax registration campaigns: challenges and solutions
Taxpayer registration has been a primary concern for revenue administrations. While these bodies have recently been investing significant efforts into…
ICTD launches DFS TaxMap: A comprehensive visualisation tool on taxation of digital financial services in Africa
African revenue authority researchers gather to share insights on driving evidence-based tax policy
The ICTD hosted a four-day workshop which brought together a group of partners from the research departments of the tax…
Stakeholder meeting on taxing the informal sector held in Abuja
Nigeria is facing a looming fiscal crisis, with its debt servicing equal to the revenue it generates. More than half…
ICTD researchers discuss taxation of high net worth individuals on TADAT podcast
ICTD Research Director Dr Giulia Mascagni has been featured in a third episode of the TADAT podcast series, sharing the…
Call for research proposals: Taxing the wealthy in lower-income countries
Taxation of wealthy individuals – broadly those with relatively high incomes and/or wealth as compared to national populations – presents…
Virtual
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Timezone: Europe/London
Watch the event recording here. On February 8th, the ICTD’s Research Director Dr Giulia Mascagni will be speaking as a panellist at an event focusing on taxpayer education. Read her paper on the role of taxpayer education in Africa, on
Virtual
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Timezone: Europe/London
The ICTD’s Research Director Giulia Mascagni will be beginning this spring’s Tax for Development webinar series. This upcoming webinar, The Tax Side of the Pandemic: Compliance Shifts and Funding for Recovery in Rwanda, is the first of a series of
Virtual
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Timezone: America/New_York
What impact has the Covid-19 pandemic had on taxpayer perceptions and tax compliance in low-income countries? In this seminar hosted by the World Bank, the ICTD’s Research Director Dr. Giulia Mascagni will present results from new research in Rwanda. Recently
Virtual
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Timezone: Europe/London
A central aspect of institutional development in developing economies is building tax systems capable of raising revenues from broad tax bases; i.e., acquiring fiscal capacity. Improved fiscal capacity allows countries to generate much-needed resources for the provision of public goods
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