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

14 December 2023

The UN Tax Committee spreads its wings

Sol Picciotto

After attending the United Nations Tax Committee meeting in October and participating in its deliberations, Professor Sol Picciotto reflects in…

20 November 2023

Unpacking Zambia’s proposed mobile money levy: Lessons and considerations

Hannelore Niesten

As Zambia’s proposed e-levy on mobile money transfers takes shape, policymakers would be prudent to consider the lessons learnt by…

11 August 2023

Kenya is going digital to boost tax revenue – there are lessons to learn from other African countries

Celeste Scarpini, Fabrizio Santoro

Many African tax authorities have weak capacity to raise revenue. From 1990 to 2020, sub-Saharan African countries on average collected…

25 July 2023

ICTD’s new web portal on taxation of digital financial services in Africa

Awa Diouf, Hannelore Niesten

Across Africa, the rapid growth of digital financial services (DFS) has led to increased interest in effectively taxing these services….

11 July 2023

Helping Politicians to Break Bad Tax Habits

Mick Moore

Politicians have many bad tax habits. These include using tax inspections to punish political opponents; ensuring that their friends and…

6 July 2023

Electronic tax administration: Insights from Rwanda where manual practices persist

Fabrizio Santoro, Kelbesa Megersa

The Rwandan government has been trying to digitalise the economy since 2015, however new evidence from ICTD reveals that not…

27 July 2026

ICTD launches report on 15 years of research and the future of development finance

The International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) has officially released its major report, Taxing Smarter: Advancing Reform Through Research…

21 July 2025

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…

4 July 2024

ICTD hosts tax research study visit for KESRA delegation

Giulia Mascagni, Bernard Baimwera

ICTD was delighted to welcome a delegation of faculty from the Kenya School of Revenue Authority (KESRA), the Kenya Revenue…

10 May 2024

Wilson Prichard Leads Session on Revenue Systems at Harvard Ministerial Leadership Forum

Wilson Prichard

Harvard University hosted its annual Harvard Ministerial Leadership Forum last month welcoming finance and economic planning ministers from Africa, the…

1 March 2024

Insights on Ghana’s e-levy: What do we know nearly two years on?

A two-day workshop opened in Accra, Ghana, on the topic ‘Taxing mobile money: Lessons and ways forward’. Research findings and…

10 February 2024

Leveraging Technology for Enhanced Tax Administration: Insights from the 2nd RRA Research Conference

Fabrizio Santoro, Denis Mukama

On February 9, 2024, the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) and the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) co-hosted the…

Webinar: Getting Targets Right – How much tax can low-income countries raise?

Virtual

17 April 2024 – 14:00

•

Timezone: UTC

A panel of researchers and practitioners are set to discuss the role that targets can play in building tax capacity. Are optimistic targets helpful or hurtful? And how can we make targets better?

Virtual Workshops: Policy Design for Effective Property Taxation

Virtual

19 July 2023 – 15:00

•

Timezone: Europe/Paris

While property taxation constitutes a major revenue source for subnational governments, it remains one of the most underperforming in lower-income countries. This is but one example of how, in many countries, subnational governments’ revenue-raising efforts are frequently ineffective, inequitable, and

Conference: Building Progressive & Equitable Property Tax Systems in Lower-Income Countries

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.

Conference: Global Tax Governance at a Crossroads

In person

5 June 2023 – 09:00

•

Timezone: Africa/Dar_es_Salaam

Nairobi Serena Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya

The ICTD is hosting a research and policy conference in Nairobi on the future of global tax governance in partnership with the Kenya School of Revenue Administration, and in collaboration with the the Committee on Fiscal Studies at the University

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