Beyond the state, but reinforcing it? Informal tax institutions and state legitimacy in the Democratic Republic of Congo
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WIDER Working Paper 12/2026
This paper explores the role of informal taxation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and aims to shed light on informal fiscal realities and the implications of informal tax institutions for governance and state legitimacy.
Relying on mixed-methods data from household surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions across Kinshasa and North Kivu, it focuses on three areas of inquiry: the nature of informal taxation; citizens’ perceptions of formal and informal taxing authorities; and the impact of informal taxation on perceptions of the state’s legitimacy. The paper finds that, while informal taxes place a significant burden on citizens, they may support local governance by supplementing public services and reinforcing perceptions of state legitimacy, particularly in the case of customary contributions.
Overall, these findings highlight the complex interplay between informal and formal institutions, challenging assumptions that informal taxation solely undermines state authority. Its insights hold critical implications for scholars of informal governance and policy makers aiming to navigate hybrid governance structures in fragile states.
Vanessa van den Boogaard is a Research Fellow at ICTD and a Senior Research Associate at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. She completed her PhD thesis on informal revenue generation and statebuilding in Sierra Leone, and has ongoing research on the topic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, and Somalia. Vanessa co-leads ICTD's research programme on informality and tax.
Yannick Bokasola is Research Director at the Association Congolaise pour la Recherche Académique. He has worked in collaboration with the International Centre for Tax and Development since 2015, leading field research as part of taxation studies including in Kinshasa, the Kivus, and the greater Kasai regions. He served also as Field Coordinator at the Development Impact Evaluation (DIME) unit within the World Bank, where he actively supported the Fragility, Conflict and Violence project portfolio with a regional focus and expertise on the DRC.
Gayatri Sahgal is a tax researcher and a postdoctoral scholar at the University of
Pennsylvania. She obtained her PhD from Oxford University in 2023. Her
research focuses on the political economy of taxation in fragile and developing
country contexts. Gayatri’s research is informed by a decade of work as a
research and monitoring evaluation specialist.
Caleb Jérémie Dohou is a Research Consultant at the World Bank’s Development Impact (DIME) department. His research focuses on development economics, education, infrastructure, health, water and sanitation, and policy evaluation. He received a master’s degree in Mathematics, Economics, and Statistics from the African School of Economics in Benin.
Citation: van den Boogaard, V., Bokasola, Y.L., Sahgal, G., Dohou , C.J.(2026) Beyond the state, but reinforcing it? Informal tax institutions and state legitimacy in the Democratic Republic of Congo. WIDER Working Paper 2026/12. Helsinki: UNU-WIDER. https://doi.org/10.35188/UNU-WIDER/2026/688-9
