International Centre for Tax and Development

African governments are increasingly digitalising their tax systems, with the hope of raising more revenue through digitalisation. Our latest paper investigates the adoption and impact of electronic services on tax outcomes, focusing on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Burkina Faso. More here ⬇️ We focus on three indicators of e-service adoption by taxpayers: 1️⃣ registering for the eSINTAX platform 2️⃣using it for e-filing (called eSINTAX filing) 3️⃣paying taxes digitally (called tax epayment) 🔎We present three sets of results: 1️⃣key drivers for adopting eSINTAX services include having SARL legal status, using electronic billing machines, having higher tax knowledge, operating in the trade sector, undergoing audits, having a dedicated accounting department, and being an older business. 2️⃣ we explore how technology usage shapes tax attitudes and perceptions. While no strong relationship is found between eSINTAX filing and practical perceptions of navigating the tax system, tax e-payment significantly improves the perceived ease of filing and facilitates compliance, particularly after tax adjustments. Also, eSINTAX enhances perceptions of tax system fairness, transparency, and trust, and reduces perceived corruption 3️⃣we document the causal impacts of eSINTAX services on tax declarations and payments. Registering for eSINTAX significantly increases declared tax liabilities, a trend that continues with eSINTAX filing. Tax e-payment results in higher tax amounts paid compared to non-digital methods. ➡️Based on these findings, the paper offers policy recommendations for the Burkinabe revenue authority and other African governments aiming to leverage digitalisation to strengthen their tax systems. These recommendations include the launch of targeted awareness-raising campaigns and the organisation of practical training to encourage the adoption of digital tax services. There should also be more investment in digital infrastructure and e-payment security to ensure reliability and trust in e-payment systems. 📃Check the full paper: https://ow.ly/yGol50TNyZV ⏳Short on time? Check instead the 2-page summary: https://lnkd.in/euVaczfR Jule Kaïni TINTA | Mouhamed Zerbo | Fabrizio Santoro | Awa Diouf | CERDI Université Clermont Auvergne CNRS IRD #TaxExperts #Taxation #ElectronicTax

🆕A decade in the making❗ Check this journal article by Wilson Prichard, Samuel Jibao and Nicolas ORGEIRA PILLAI ⬇️ The researchers evaluate the impact of a quasi-randomized property tax reform implemented in Sierra Leone beginning in 2013 in order to provide evidence about the extent to which expanded taxation results in “tax bargaining” and increased responsiveness and accountability. The paper draws on a panel survey conducted in both treatment and control districts immediately prior to the implementation of a large-scale property tax reform programme in 2012 and again in early 2017 in order to offer a uniquely direct and holistic tests of theories linking taxation to expanded responsiveness and accountability. The paper first presents evidence that the tax reform program resulted in large and significant improvements in the perceived quality of public services, consistent with theories linking expanded taxation to improvements in governance. It then provides evidence of individual level changes in attitudes and behaviors that can explain those aggregate improvements in service delivery outcomes: a large expansion of political knowledge, increases in important forms of political engagement, and the emergence of more conditional attitudes toward tax compliance. 📃Find it here https://ow.ly/Avcq50TNv6x Local Government Revenue Initiative | University of Sussex | University of Toronto - Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy | University of Toronto #TaxExperts #PropertyTax #Taxation #SierraLeone

Check this paper by Annet Oguttu, Professor of Tax Law at the University of Pretoria and member of the ICTD Centre Advisory Group. In this article, Oguttu considers how African countries can increase their tax base by taxing “high-net-worth individuals” (HNWIs), a small but growing segment of society that has the potential to contribute to revenue collection but is largely undertaxed. While the article sets out the justifications for African countries to focus on the taxation of HNWIs, it also notes that countries generally face various challenges in taxing HNWIs. To address the challenges, the article refers to some international guidelines that African countries can adopt in order to effectively tax HNWIs. With South Africa being the country on the continent with the highest number of HNWIs, the article focuses on the approach it has taken to tax HNWIs, in the hope that South Africa’s success story can be emulated by other African countries that face challenges in ensuring tax compliance by HNWIs.

📢It's today! Don't miss this seminar on 'Making Global Tax Governance Fit for the 21st Century'. Our Research Director Martin Hearson will be at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) to present his latest research on international taxation. 🗓️ 17:00-18:30 UK time 📍 Hybrid (LSE Campus I Zoom) 👉 Click here to watch online: https://ow.ly/x5Cl50TzV8Z 📸 xb100/Freepik #TaxExperts #InternationalTax #GlobalTaxation

Stephanie Alkoussa and Meeko Angela Camba from our Communications team joined a group of research communications experts in Paris for the #EADIResearchCommunication2024 workshop hosted by the Agence Française de Développement. Based on their experiences at various international institutes and think tanks, the experts shared their best practices and lessons learned to help promote research, drive engagement and create impact. #TaxExperts #ResearchCommunications #CommunicationsExpert EADI European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes | Editions Agence Française de Développement

🤔 How is public participation in budget processes linked to attitudes surrounding taxation? Governments around the world are adopting various participatory institutions to incorporate citizens directly into policymaking venues - to allow them to express their preferences and to select public services that might better address their basic needs. The current wave of governance reform focuses on the adoption of institutions that promote transparency and participation in the hope of generating better public services - and, more broadly, perceptions of reciprocity and accountable governance. ➡️ The idea is, by building reciprocity and accountability, it is hoped that participatory institutions will also improve citizens' trust in government -- and by building trust, there is an expectation that citizens' tax morale may also improve. This study tests these arguments in Kenya: https://ow.ly/85un50TFO6t #Taxation #TaxExperts

Twenty-two tax and finance professionals mostly from countries across Africa successfully completed ICTD’s last module for the Research on Tax and Development course in Accra earlier this month. The course, which has been delivered by ICTD for nearly ten years, equips participants with a strong understanding of the current tax and development landscape, and teaches them basic research methodologies, supporting them to develop their own research projects. Read here the testimonials of Samuel Namwanja Musoke, Afshin Nazir, Bernard Busuulwa and our colleagues Max Gallien and Stephanie Alkoussa ➡️https://ow.ly/u8NW50TxnwN #OnlineCourse #TaxExperts #Taxation #TaxCourse #TaxDevelopment Institute of Development Studies | University of Ghana | Centre for Social Policy Studies (CSPS) at UG

Ready for our monthly #BookRecommendations? 📚 The September list was curated by the members of our Communications team to reflect their rich and diverse backgrounds. Each book recounts or documents stories relevant to current events. Head of Communications and Impact Emilie Wilson recommends ⬇️ 'Poverty Safari: Understanding the Anger of Britain's Underclass' by Darren McGarvey (2017) If you found yourself asking "why Brexit?", "why the anti-immigration riots?", "why the huge rise in knife crime?", I recommend this book. If you are interested in the pernicious impact of deprivation, poverty and systematic exclusion over generations of lives, I recommend this book. Darren McGarvey (also known as rapper Loki) eloquently if grimly depicts the abject fear and volatility of his childhood in Glasgow, living in poverty. It will not be an easy read but it helps that McGarvey's provocations are beautifully written, maybe the reason why his book won the Orwell prize. Communications Officer Stephanie Alkoussa recommends ⬇️ 'Returning to Haifa' by Ghassan Kanafani (1970) This novella by Palestinian author Ghassan Kanafani is his last work before his assassination in 1972. In it, he narrates the story of Said and Safiyya who were forced in 1948 to flee their home during the Nakba, leaving behind their newborn son Khaldun. It is not until 1967 that the couple is able to return but to find someone else living in their home. The novel showcases a tragic history depicting occupation and injustice, and translates the author’s yearn for his homeland from which he was exiled. According to the Guardian, it is a “call for reciprocal awareness and acknowledgement of past injustice [which now] seems more necessary than ever.” Communications Assistant Meeko Angela Camba recommends ⬇️ ‘Some People Need Killing: A Memoir of Murder in the Philippines’ by Patricia Evangelista (2023) This book documents the tens of thousands of killings that occurred in the Philippines in the name of the drug war under the presidency Rodrigo Duterte, through the eyes of trauma journalist Patricia Evangelista. While it is not an easy read (not because of the prose – it’s excellently written!), it’s an extremely important one as it does not only talk about the brutality and tragedy of these killings but provides insight as to how they happened (and continue to happen) in the oldest democracy in Southeast Asia. 🗨️ Have you read any of these books? Leave your thoughts ⬇️ #BookLover #BookCommunity #BookReview

📢 Don't forget to mark your calendars! Join us next Wednesday, Oct 16 for a seminar on 'Making Global Tax Governance Fit for the 21st Century', where our Research Director Martin Hearson will present ICTD research on the matter. 🗓️ 16 October I 17:00-18:30 UK time 📍 Hybrid (LSE Campus I Zoom) 👉 Click here to watch online: https://ow.ly/x5Cl50TzV8Z In the meantime, check out our extensive work on #InternationalTax: https://ow.ly/t7py50TFAHr #TaxExperts #GlobalTaxation

At the Institute of Development Studies' members seminar, Fabrizio Santoro and Celeste Scarpini showcased the lessons learned on the potential of digital public infrastructure (DPI) to reshape tax administrations in Africa, as produced by the now concluded DIGITAX programme. Caroline Khene from IDS's digital cluster discussed the broader fundamental issues concerning any digitalisation reforms in governments, drawing important connections to understand the potential of DPI applications. The researchers then concluded with policy recommendations and future directions for research on DPI implementation in low-income countries. 📃More from our DIGITAX programme here: https://ow.ly/pWcf50TGVxr