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

18 May 2026

The future of development starts with getting tax right

Giulia Mascagni

Taxation is a central part of a new era of development that has fiscal resilience, system change and people at…

28 April 2026

The IRD is finding its mojo

Mick Moore

The government recently promised to build the department a new HQ. Not entirely coincidentally, the IRD itself has recently begun…

24 June 2025

Pakistan’s support for wealth taxes

Max Gallien, Umair Javed, Vanessa van den Boogaard

In a context marked by deepening fiscal constraint, wealth taxes offer a potential solution for Pakistan as they have done…

30 May 2025

Bridging the divide: Rwanda’s quest for equitable digital governance

Elizabeth Bermeo, Fabrizio Santoro

In Rwanda, digital transformation is driven by IremboGov, an integrated e-government platform that streamlines access to essential services. While this…

28 April 2025

Why tax matters in fragile states and how donors can support it

Vanessa van den Boogaard

Fragile contexts are home to 24% of the world’s population (1.9 billion people), and three-quarters (73%) of the world’s extreme…

23 July 2024

Taxing mobile money: Five critical strategies for policymakers

Awa Diouf, Hannelore Niesten, Mary Abounabhan

Revenue authorities, policymakers, industry, and researchers met to explore how taxes on mobile money could be effectively and equitably designed….

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…

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.

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

Completed

Taliban Taxation System in Afghanistan

Start date: 01/02/2021

Current

Fiscal Decentralization and Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations in sub-Saharan Africa: A critical literature survey and perspective for future research

Start date: 01/11/2020

Current

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

Start date: 28/04/2021

Current

Revenue shortfalls from domestic and trade taxes in the wake of COVID: evidence from Eswatini, Rwanda, Uganda, Sierra Leone and South Africa

Start date: 04/05/2020

Current

The impact of intergovernmental transfers on fiscal behaviors of local governments in Ethiopia

Start date: 15/06/2019

Completed

Tax Collection and Bureaucrat Accountability: Experimental Evidence from the DRC