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

Protest Matters: The Effects of Protests on Economic Redistribution

December 2023

Belinda Archibong, Tom Moerenhout, Evans Osabuohien

Journal Article

The Politics of Taxation and Tax Reform in Times of Crisis: Covid-19 and Attitudes towards Taxation in Sierra Leone

September 2023

Nicolas Orgeira Pillai, Vanessa van den Boogaard, Wilson Prichard

Research in Brief

Beyond Greed: Why Armed Groups Tax

August 2023

Tanya Bandula-Irwin, Max Gallien, Ashley Jackson, Vanessa van den Boogaard, Florian Weigand

Research in Brief

Explaining Informal Taxation and Revenue Generation: Evidence from south-central Somalia

August 2023

Vanessa van den Boogaard, Fabrizio Santoro

Research in Brief

The Politics of Taxation and Tax Reform in Times of Crisis: Covid-19 and Attitudes Towards Taxation in Sierra Leone

August 2023

Vanessa van den Boogaard, Wilson Prichard, Nicolas Orgeira Pillai

Research in Brief

Between God, the People, and the State: Citizen Conceptions of Zakat

August 2023

Max Gallien, Umair Javed, Vanessa van den Boogaard

Research in Brief

Unpacking ‘Tax Morale’: Distinguishing Between Conditional and Unconditional Views of Tax Compliance

August 2023

Wilson Prichard

Research in Brief

Catch Them If You Can: The Politics and Practice of a Taxpayer Registration Exercise

August 2023

Max Gallien, Giovanni Occhiali, Vanessa van den Boogaard

Working Paper

Missing the Forest for the Trees: Ekiti State’s Quest for Forestry Revenue and its Impact on Forest Management

August 2023

Giovanni Occhiali, Michael Falade

Research in Brief

Tax and Governance in the Context of Scarce Revenues: Inefficient Tax Collection and its Implications in Rural West Africa

August 2023

Vanessa van den Boogaard, Rachel Beach

Working Paper

Taxing Mobile Money in Kenya: Impact on Financial Inclusion

June 2023

Awa Diouf, Marco Carreras, Fabrizio Santoro

Working Paper

Between God, the People, and the State: Citizen Conceptions of Zakat

June 2023

Max Gallien, Umair Javed, Vanessa van den Boogaard

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…

28 November 2023

Can the UK’s new international development strategy support fairer and more effective taxation systems?

Wilson Prichard, Martin Hearson, Max Gallien

Last week, the UK government published a new White Paper on International Development which sets out its approach to international…

9 August 2023

Global tax governance: Understanding the past, charting the future

This week, the UN released the advance version of the Secretary General’s report on the “Promotion of inclusive and effective…

2 February 2023

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…

2 February 2023

First tax conference in Sierra Leone hailed a success

On December 7th and 8th, over 100 policymakers, researchers, members of civil society, and other stakeholders gathered at the Radisson…

19 January 2023

Call for Applications: Four fully-funded PhD scholarships in tax and development

The International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) is a research centre aiming to improve tax policy and administration in…

5 December 2022

Researchers and policymakers to discuss tax collection for Sierra Leone’s development

On December 7th and 8th, over 100 policymakers, researchers, members of civil society, and other stakeholders will gather at the…

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