Research Theme

Tax and Governance

Discovering how and why increased taxation can spur statebuilding and government accountability is crucial across all countries. Combining tax and governance gives us a richer picture of how the right kinds of taxation can deliver more and better for taxpayers, and what success is contingent on. When tax and governance operate well, both local and national governments benefit.

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Key Resources

Report

Taxing Smarter: Advancing Reform Through Research and Partnership

July 2026

Policy Brief

Governing the Exchange of Tax Data in Digital Public Infrastructure: Law, Rights, and the Protection of Citizens in Data-Driven Systems

July 2026

Daisy Ogembo, Hannelore Niesten

Journal Article

Citizens’ aid preferences amid state collapse: Experimental evidence from Haiti

April 2026

Ana Isabel López García, Sarah Berens

Partner Publication

Digital Payments: Opportunities and Challenges for African Tax Administrations

October 2025

Fabrizio Santoro, Lucia Rossel

Tax and Governance Library

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

Research in Brief

Does Collecting Taxes Erode the Accountability of Informal Leaders? Evidence from the DRC

September 2024

Augustin Bergeron, Elie Kabue Ngindu, Gabriel Tourek, Jonathan L Weigel

Partner Publication

Leveraging Digital Innovations for Sustainable Development: Evidence from Tax Systems in Africa

September 2024

Fabrizio Santoro, Tanele Magongo, Razan Amine

Policy Brief

Exploring the Development of Mobile Money Markets and Revenue Collection from Digital Financial Services Taxes in Africa

August 2024

Hannelore Niesten, Christopher Wales

Policy Brief

Crafting a Model for Taxing Digital Financial Services

August 2024

Christopher Wales, Hannelore Niesten

Working Paper

Does Collecting Taxes Erode the Accountability of Informal Leaders? Evidence from the DRC

June 2024

Augustin Bergeron, Elie Kabue Ngindu, Gabriel Tourek, Jonathan Weigel

Research in Brief

Taxing Mobile Money in Kenya: Impact on Financial Inclusion

May 2024

Awa Diouf, Marco Carreras, Fabrizio Santoro

Research in Brief

Protests, Fiscal Redistribution, and Government Responses: Evidence from Nigeria

April 2024

Belinda Archibong, Tom Moerenhout, Evans Osabuohien

Research in Brief

Is Transparency Enough? An Examination of the Effect of the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) on Accountability, Corruption and Trust in Zambia

April 2024

Sidonie East

Policy Brief

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

March 2024

Max Gallien, Adrienne Lees, Giulia Mascagni

Journal Article

Encouraging digital tax tools as a response to COVID: Evidence from Eswatini

January 2024

Fabrizio Santoro, Razan Amine, Tanele Magongo

15 August 2019

Broadening Nigeria’s revenue base: Can little drops of taxes make a mighty nation?

Uzochukwu Uchechukwu Alutu

Nigeria’s dependence on oil Nigeria relies more on oil than it does on direct taxes or any other forms of…

9 July 2019

Tax and Accountability: How to strengthen the links?

David Pedley, Rhiannon McCluskey

British civil servants sign up to core values enshrined in the Civil Service Code: integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality. Implicit…

25 March 2019

What Nigerians really think about tax

Neil McCulloch, Tom Moerenhout

Nigeria’s performance on collected taxes is poor. Non-oil revenue in the country is around 3-4 percent of GDP, far below…

4 March 2019

Targets for Equity-Enhancing Tax Advocacy

Wilson Prichard

Recent years have seen surging international interest in strengthening tax collection in order to finance national development programs. Yet, despite…

12 December 2018

Taxing Africa: Power, Politics, and Public Participation

Mick Moore, Odd-Helge Fjeldstad, Wilson Prichard

Over the past decade, international attention has increasingly focused on the potential contribution of taxation to improved development outcomes. In…

1 August 2018

Tax Justice – How to integrate local experiences into an international campaign?

Mª Josep Cascant-Sempere (Kas)

What does tax justice mean at the local level, and how can the experiences of informal market traders be linked…

8 June 2020

Call for research proposals: Tax and civil society (Closed)

The Call for Proposals for research projects on civil society is currently closed. We aim to open a new call…

29 May 2019

Better Tax initiative launched in Nigeria

The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) launched the Better Tax initiative on May 15th in Lagos. The initiative seeks to…

20 February 2019

ICTD Annual Meeting in Kigali: “What Next for Tax Research in Africa?”

On February 5-8th, the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) held its seventh annual meeting in association with the…

10 February 2019

ICTD Welcomes New Research Proposals (Call now closed)

The ICTD is now in a position to fund new research proposals on tax and development. We welcome all proposals…

8 February 2018

ICTD researchers to speak at global tax conference at the United Nations

Two members of our team have been invited to speak at the First Global Conference of the Platform for Collaboration…

Enhancing Transparency, Accountability and Effectiveness of Tax Expenditures

In person

15 October 2026 – 09:00

•

Timezone: Bangkok time, GMT+7

Tax expenditures, including exemptions, deductions, credits and reduced rates, are among the most widely used tax policy tools, yet they are often costly, poorly governed and subject to limited scrutiny. Revenue foregone through tax expenditures worldwide amounts to around USD

A Roadmap for Fiscal Sustainability: Taxing Smarter for Growth and Equity | Global Partnerships Conference side event

Virtual

19 May 2026 – 15:05

•

Timezone: Europe/London

Organised on the sidelines of the Global Partnerships Conference, our side event will provide practical lessons drawn from research on tax reform in lower-income countries.

Webinar: The Role of ODA in Strengthening the Capacity of Accountability Stakeholders for Domestic Revenue Mobilisation

Virtual

9 April 2026 – 13:00

•

Timezone: Europe/London

This webinar, hosted by ATI’s Consultative Group 4, will look into the role of Official Development Assistance in building up the capacity of “accountability stakeholders” — including civil society, academia, and the media — around domestic revenue mobilisation.

Lecture: The need for more inclusive, equitable tax and multilateral systems

Virtual

3 December 2025 – 16:00

•

Timezone: Europe/London

Fresh from the UN Tax Convention negotiations in Nairobi earlier this month, Mukumba will discuss why reforming the global tax architecture matters for everyone, not just the global South that is pushing for change.

Current

Traditional Leaders, Taxation, and Statebuilding in Sierra Leone

Start date: 01/04/2024

Completed

Mobile money and quality of tax administration and tax policy in developing countries

Start date: 16/08/2023

Completed

Tax compliance and Digital Financial Services in Burkina Faso: The role of formal and informal

Start date: 01/08/2023

Completed

The impact of mobile money taxation on SACCOS and their members in Tanzania

Start date: 02/08/2023

Completed

The impact of taxation on mobile money agents: a case study on Cameroon

Start date: 09/08/2023

Completed

New taxpayer registration through ID – impacts on formalisation and revenue

Start date: 20/10/2025

Completed

E-Levy and merchant payment exemptions in Ghana

Start date: 09/08/2023

Completed

Perceptions, Impact, and Equity of Mobile Money taxation: The case of Ghana’s E-levy

Start date: 03/05/2023

Current

Taxation of High Net Worth Individuals in Sierra Leone

Start date: 14/06/2021

Completed

Does the Expansion of Tax Demands Lead to Greater Political Engagement and Demands for Accountability? Evidence from a Property Tax Reform in Sierra Leone

Start date: 20/10/2022

Completed

Can Traditional Political Institutions Help the State Raise Taxes? Experimental Evidence from Sierra Leone

Start date: 01/09/2022

Completed

The Collateral Effects of Evictions on Property Tax Morale: Class, Preferences and Signals from the State

Start date: 03/11/2021