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

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….

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.

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