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

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

May 2023

Vanessa van den Boogaard, Wilson Prichard, Nicolas Orgeira Pillai

Research in Brief

Diffusion of OECD Transfer Pricing Regulations in Eastern Africa: Agency and Compliance in Governing Profit-Shifting Behaviour

May 2023

Cassandra Vet

Journal Article

Formalization and its Discontents: Conceptual Fallacies and Ways Forward

April 2023

Max Gallien, Vanessa van den Boogaard

Research in Brief

Are Digital and Traditional Financial Services Taxed the Same? A Comprehensive Assessment of Tax Policies in Nine African Countries

April 2023

Hannelore Niesten

Working Paper

Diffusion of OECD Transfer Pricing Regulations in Eastern Africa: Agency and Compliance in Governing Profit-Shifting Behaviour

April 2023

Cassandra Vet

Working Paper

Are Digital and Traditional Financial Services Taxed the Same? A Comprehensive Assessment of Tax Policies in Nine African Countries

April 2023

Hannelore Niesten

Research in Brief

Assessing the Equity and Redistributive Effects of Taxation Reforms in Nigeria

April 2023

Henry C. Edeh

Working Paper

Strategic Investment Tax Incentives in Africa: The Case of Tax Holidays in Uganda

April 2023

Ronald Waiswa, Solomon Rukundo

Working Paper

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

April 2023

Max Gallien, Giovanni Occhiali, Vanessa van den Boogaard

Working Paper

Towards an Effective Taxpayer Complaint Handling Mechanism: The Case for a Tax Ombudsman in Uganda

March 2023

Solomon Rukundo

Working Paper

How Might the National Revenue Authority of Sierra Leone Enhance Revenue Collection by Taxing High Net Worth Individuals?

March 2023

Jalia Kangave, Giovanni Occhiali, Ishmail Kamara

Partner Publication

The Alternatives to Universal Tax Registration in Sri Lanka

March 2023

Mick Moore, Nishan de Mel

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…

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

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