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

Working Paper

Participation, Legitimacy and Fiscal Capacity in Weak States: Evidence from Participatory Budgeting

June 2025
Kevin Grieco, Abou Bakarr Kamara, Niccoló Meriggi, Julian Michel, Wilson Prichard

Working Paper

Beyond the Tax Bill: Measuring Tax Compliance Costs for Ugandan Firms

May 2025
Adrienne Lees

Research in Brief

Beyond the Tax Bill: Measuring Tax Compliance Costs for Ugandan Firms

May 2025
Adrienne Lees

Working Paper

What Impact Do Tax Agents Have on Taxpayers’ Compliance in Uganda? Evidence from Tax Administrative Data

May 2025
Fredrick Kalyango, Giovanni Occhiali

Research in Brief

The Potential of Digital ID Systems for Tax Administration: the Case of Ghana

February 2025
Fabrizio Santoro, Celeste Scarpini, Stephen Okiya

Working Paper

Unpacking Tax Relations in Contexts of Fragility: A Case Study of Somalia

January 2025
Gayatri Sahgal

Research in Brief

Unpacking Tax Relations in Contexts of Fragility: A Case Study of Somalia

January 2025
Gayatri Sahgal

Working Paper

The Interpersonal Side of Tax Compliance: Interactions Between Taxpayers and Tax Officials in Rwanda

January 2025
Giulia Mascagni, Celeste Scarpini, Denis Mukama, Fabrizio Santoro, Naphtal Hakizimana

African Tax Administration Paper

The Potential of Digital ID Systems for Tax Administration: The Case of Ghana

December 2024
Fabrizio Santoro, Celeste Scarpini, Stephen Okiya

Working Paper

How Tanzania’s Levy on Mobile Money Affects Small Businesses

November 2024
Stefanie Pfeil, Luciana Nyaoke Murimi, Marius Siebert, Fabrizio Santoro

Research in Brief

How Tanzanian’s Levy on Mobile Money Affects Small Businesses

November 2024
Stefanie Pfeil, Luciana Nyaoke Murimi, Marius Siebert, Fabrizio Santoro

African Tax Administration Paper

Improving Revenue Collection in Malawi. Tax Collectors’ Perspectives

October 2024
Nyanyiwe Sulu, Mick Moore

Virtual

15 November 2023 – 10:00

•

Timezone: Europe/London

Revenue administrations have recently been investing significant efforts into registering a large number of new taxpayers, in the broader quest to formalise the informal sector. But have these efforts been effective in increasing revenue and improving administration? The ICTD hosted

In person

13 June 2023 – 09:00

•

Timezone: Africa/Nairobi

Nairobi Serena Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya
The Local Government Revenue Initiative (LoGRI) is hosting its Inaugural conference from June 13-15 in Nairobi. The conference aims to unite government administrators, policymakers, and applied researchers to explore strategies for building stronger property tax systems.

Virtual

23 May 2023 – 13:00

•

Timezone: Europe/London

Randomised controlled trials is a method that comes with strengths and weaknesses. Especially in theory-based evaluations of complex programmes, the method is often considered as inappropriate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDKcykdVs04&ab_channel=InstituteofDevelopmentStudies Giulia Mascagni will reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of the method for

Virtual

30 May 2023 – 13:30

•

Timezone: Europe/London

Date: 30th May 2023, 13:30 – 14:30 London time Duration: 60 minutes Language: English only There are three puzzling features of Sub-Saharan African tax systems. First, tax administrations maintain records on vast numbers of small enterprises that actually provide no

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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