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

State Visibility and the Fiscal Contract: Experimental Evidence from Tanzania

August 2026

Revocatus Paul, Jonathan Karver, Christopher Hoy, Ephraim Mdee, Massaga Fimbo, Zain Chaudry

Working Paper

State Visibility and the Fiscal Contract: Experimental Evidence from Tanzania

August 2026

Revocatus Paul, Jonathan Karver, Christopher Hoy, Ephraim Mdee, Massaga Fimbo, Zain Chaudry

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

Journal Article

The state-capital nexus in fragile contexts: a case study of tax relations in Somalia

August 2025

Gayatri Sahgal

Policy Brief

Public Support for Wealth and Progressive Taxes in Pakistan

June 2025

Max Gallien, Umair Javed, Vanessa van den Boogaard

Working Paper

Participation, Legitimacy and Fiscal Capacity in Weak States: Evidence from Participatory Budgeting

June 2025

Kevin Grieco, Abou Bakarr Kamara, Niccoló Meriggi, Julian Michel, Wilson Prichard

Briefing

First Draft of the FfD4 Outcome Document: Recommendations on Domestic Public Resources

April 2025

Research in Brief

Tax Revenue Mobilisation in Conflict-affected Developing Countries

February 2025

Vanessa van den Boogaard, Wilson Prichard, Nikola Milicic, Matthew Benson, Deanndre Chen

Journal Article

Taxing high-net-worth individuals in Nigeria: Challenges and opportunities for policy-makers from a preliminary investigation

February 2025

Giovanni Occhiali, Jalia Kangave, Hamza Ahmed Khan

25 April 2023

Making the IMF Work for Sri Lankans: Part 2

Mick Moore

March 20, when the IMF Board approved an Extended Fund Facility for Sri Lanka, now seems a long time ago….

13 April 2023

How do taxes affect the price of digital financial services?

Hannelore Niesten, Awa Diouf

How the interplay between DFS pricing and taxation affects the cost of DFS, and why transparency and competition are crucial…

12 April 2023

Can real-time electronic invoicing fix VAT’s problem?

Adrienne Lees

VAT’s self-enforcement mechanism is powerful and also its greatest weakness. In Rwanda, China and Ethiopia, e-invoicing systems show promising early…

6 April 2023

Building trust by earmarking taxes on digital financial services

Mary Abounabhan, Hannelore Niesten, Amrita Saha

Can earmarking provide an answer to the controversy of taxes on digital financial services such as Ghana’s e-levy? Although an…

27 February 2023

Making the IMF Work for Sri Lankans

The government of Sri Lanka is negotiating a large conditional loan from the IMF. A formal agreement is likely to…

20 February 2023

The Ghana e-levy: Can the latest rate reduction win greater public acceptance and increase revenue?

Awa Diouf, Alex Ampaabeng, Mary Abounabhan, Hannelore Niesten

The reduced tax rate on electronic transactions is unlikely to satisfy Ghanaians given the country’s rising inflation…

26 May 2022

ICTD’s ‘The Routledge Handbook of Smuggling’ book editor featured on ‘Between the Lines’ podcast

ICTD Research Fellow Max Gallien was interviewed by BBC journalist Sana Safi about his new book ‘The Routledge Handbook of…

25 May 2022

The tax story behind the Sri Lankan crisis

Professor Mick Moore explains the causes of the economic crisis in Sri Lanka and its impact on people’s day-to-day lives….

6 April 2022

Announcing the Local Government Revenue Initiative (LoGRI)

In 2017, the ICTD launched the Africa Property Tax Initiative (APTI) to support efforts to strengthen property taxation across Africa….

6 April 2022

Job Opportunity: Programme Manager, DIGITAX

Closing date for applications: Saturday, 30th April 2022 The International Centre for Tax and Development is seeking a Programme Manager…

31 March 2022

DIGITAX working papers examine the intersection between technology, tax policies & collection methods

DIGITAX is a new ICTD research programme aimed at generating knowledge and evidence to support governments in overcoming the challenges…

28 February 2022

New World Bank framework for tax reform developed in partnership with the ICTD

In many developing countries, tax revenues remain far below levels needed to provide citizens with basic services or fund extra…

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