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

Building Trust and Tax Morale in Kenya’s Counties: An evaluation of Participatory Budgeting

May 2024
Brian Wampler, Michael Touchton, Timothy Kiprono

Working Paper

Building Fiscal Capacity with Traditional Political Institutions: Experimental and Qualitative Evidence from Sierra Leone

May 2024
Kevin Grieco

Working Paper

How Will Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) Influence Tax Administration in Developing Countries?

May 2024
Moyo Arewa, Celeste Scarpini, Kelbesa Megersa, Barry Cooper, Antonia Esser

Research in Brief

Pathways Into the Tax Net: Better Ways to Register African Taxpayers

May 2024
Edward Groening, Mick Moore, Denis Mukama, Ronald Waiswa

Working Paper

Taxing High Net Worth Individuals in Nigeria: Preliminary Insights and the Case of Borno State

April 2024
Giovanni Occhiali, Jalia Kangave, Hamza Ahmed Khan

Policy Brief

Digital IDs and Digital Payments – Opportunities and Challenges for Tax Administration

April 2024
Fabrizio Santoro, Wilson Prichard, Giulia Mascagni

Policy Brief

Getting Targets Right: How Much Revenue can Lower-Income Countries Raise?

March 2024
Max Gallien, Adrienne Lees, Giulia Mascagni

Research in Brief

Using Digital Technologies to Improve Tax Collection – the Case of Togo

March 2024
Dorothy Kang’oro, Fidèle Kanyarugero Ngerero, Ignatius Odongo

Research in Brief

Finding the Missing Stone: Mobile Money and the Quality of Tax Policy and Administration

March 2024
Ablam Estel Apeti, Eyah Denise Edoh

Journal Article

Does the Value-Added Tax Add Value? Lessons Using Administrative Data from a Diverse Set of Countries

February 2024
Anne Brockmeyer, Giulia Mascagni, Vedanth Nair, Mazhar Waseem, Miguel Almunia

Research in Brief

Digital Tax Policy and Tax Revenue Collection in Cameroon

February 2024
Fossong Derrick, Ashu Mc Moi Ndi, Fabrizio Santoro

Working Paper

The E-Levy and Merchant Payment Exemption in Ghana

February 2024
Celeste Scarpini, Fabrizio Santoro, Mary Abounabhan, Awa Diouf

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

Examining Digital Payments in Rwanda as a Medium for Tax Compliance

Start date: 02/01/2022

Completed

Tax Revenue in Emerging Markets and Developing Countries: Do Mobile Financial Services Matter?

Start date: 01/01/2022

Completed

Extent of Adoption and Effective Data Utilisation from Digitalised Tax Payment Systems and Digital IDs among States’ Taxing Authorities in Nigeria

Start date: 02/01/2022

Completed

Impact of Compulsory e-Payments on Compliance in Eswatini

Start date: 01/01/2022

Completed

Review of Tax Payment Technologies: Uses, Benefits, Drawbacks, and Future Options

Start date: 01/01/2022

Completed

Tax e-Services in Rwanda: Uptake, Impacts and Shifts after COVID-19

Start date: 01/01/2022

Completed

From Hand to Mouse Redux: Data, Technology and Tax Administration in Africa: A Review of Existing Evidence

Start date: 01/01/2022

Current

Comparison of Taxation of DFS Versus Traditional Financial Services in Nine African Countries

Start date: 01/01/2022

Completed

Digital Payment Tax Factsheets

Start date: 01/01/2022

Current

The Mobile Money Tax in Uganda: Study of the Policymaking Process

Start date: 28/04/2021

Completed

Is Value Added Withholding Tax effective as a tool of enhancing VAT and total revenue generation?

Start date: 01/08/2020

Current

How reliable are Taxpayers’ Tax Returns Data? Data Management in Uganda Revenue Authority

Start date: 01/04/2020
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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