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

Research in Brief

Mandating Digital Tax Tools as a Response to Covid: Evidence from Eswatini

February 2023

Fabrizio Santoro, Razan Amine

Journal Article

Tax and governance in rural areas: The implications of inefficient tax collection

February 2023

Vanessa van den Boogaard, Rachel Beach

Journal Article

The Tax Side of the Pandemic: Shifts in Compliance Attitudes and Perceptions in Rwanda

February 2023

Giulia Mascagni, Fabrizio Santoro

African Tax Administration Paper

The Tax Response to Covid-19 in Ethiopia: Lessons for the Future

January 2023

Mulugeta Akalu, Misganaw Gashaw Beza, Zerihun Asegid

Factsheet

Taxation of digital financial services in Kenya

January 2023

Hannelore Niesten, Mary Abounabhan

Factsheet

Taxation of digital financial services in Côte d’Ivoire

January 2023

Hannelore Niesten, Mary Abounabhan

Factsheet

Taxation of digital financial services in Uganda

January 2023

Hannelore Niesten, Mary Abounabhan

Working Paper

The Political Economy of South Africa’s Carbon Tax

November 2022

Lucy Baker

Working Paper

Growth or Goods: Examining Tax Morale Among Property Owners in Lagos

November 2022

Nicole E. Wilson, Leah R. Rosenzweig

Journal Article

Financing governance beyond the state: Informal revenue generation in south-central Somalia

October 2022

Vanessa van den Boogaard, Fabrizio Santoro

Working Paper

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

September 2022

Wilson Prichard

Book

Property Taxes and State Incapacity in Pakistan

June 2022

Muhammad Mujtaba Piracha

8 September 2022

Mobile-money taxation in East Africa: Harmonisation or laissez-faire?

Hannelore Niesten

Regional tax harmonisation is controversial, with compelling arguments for and against. Is it desirable? Or beneficial? And if so, to…

23 June 2022

Why taxation should be high on the agenda for Commonwealth leaders

Giulia Mascagni

Tax might not be the first thing that comes to mind but it is central to delivering much of the…

21 June 2022

Taxes as collateral: to risk or de-risk?

Martin Hearson, Mary Abounabhan

Ghana’s Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy), set into implementation on the 1st of May, has been met with heated public criticism….

29 April 2022

Uncertainty still dogs Ghana’s Electronic Transfer Levy

Christopher Wales, Hannelore Niesten

Can Ghana’s Electronic Transfer Levy be implemented legally on the 1st of May? And beyond that, how will it work?…

16 March 2022

Tax justice from the ground up: An interview with SEATINI Uganda

Jane Nalunga

In this blog, the ICTD speaks with Jane Nalunga, Executive Director of SEATINI Uganda to learn about the organisation’s quest…

10 November 2021

Imposing Standards: Lessons from tax history about the ‘global tax deal’

Martin Hearson

G20 leaders are celebrating a new agreement to strengthen the taxation of tech firms and create a global minimum tax,…

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.

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