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
A home-grown remedy for Sri Lanka’s revenue crisis?
Sri Lankans sometimes like to claim perverse records for their country. You will likely have heard the proud assertion that…
Why African governments should tax the rich
A great deal of attention has been paid to the obstacles African governments face in effectively taxing the profits of…
The ICTD government revenue dataset: still the best option for researchers
In 2010, the ICTD launched efforts to create the ICTD government revenue dataset (GRD), which is increasingly recognized as the…
Promoting Tax Bargains in Uganda and Beyond: The Importance of Civil Society and Parliamentarians
While developing countries have acknowledged the importance of domestic resource mobilization in development, in practice, not enough attention is being…
Making VAT more visible can be an efficient tool in building a tax-paying culture
A new study shows that Value-Added-Tax can be used to educate people outside the reach of direct income taxation on…
The Sustainable Development Goals – Reject Tax Targeting
There is good news in the agenda for the Third Financing for Development Conference to be held in Addis Ababa…
Nigeria’s historic tax reform led by ICTD tax course alum
Taxing Smarter: How Research Collaboration is Strengthening Tax Systems in Africa
Amidst growing fiscal pressures, rising debt service costs, and shrinking aid budgets, strengthening domestic resource mobilisation (DRM) has become an…
The implications of digital payments for tax administration – Insights from the Inclusive FinTech Forum 2025
What is the potential of digital finance, a cashless economy and system interoperability for strengthening tax administration in lower- and…
ICTD-RRA conference discusses future of digital tax administration
Digital Public Infrastructure and Taxation in Africa – what have we learnt and what’s next?
ICTD policy impact featured in Institute of Development Studies’ latest Annual Review
Virtual
•
Timezone: Europe/London
ICTD’s Giulia Mascagni will be a guest on the next TADAT Coffee Chats to discuss the topic “Tax and Gender: How it Contributes to Domestic Revenue Mobilisation”. It’s going to be an exciting discussion with Varsha Singh, Head of the
In person
•
Timezone: Europe/Helsinki
In person
•
Timezone: Europe/London
Virtual
•
Timezone: Europe/London
The Innovations in Tax Compliance program is launching its publication “Building Trust, Navigating Politics, and Tailoring Reforms.” The virtual event will delve into the new integrated framework and strategies for strengthening tax compliance and tax reform. Report authors will share
Sign up to our Newsletter
Stay up to date with the latest articles, publications, events and more.