The Electronic Transaction Levy (E-levy), a 1.5% tax on all electronic transactions, went into effect on the 1st of May amongst considerable uncertainty and controversy. One of the prime justifications for the levy was to capture the informal sector. The President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, defended the levy as an important measure to expand the…
As leaders meet at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), this week in Kigali, Rwanda, they have an opportunity to focus their attention on the big development challenges of our time. Taxation might not be the first thing that comes to mind as business, civil society and governments discuss this year’s theme “Delivering a…
In this blog, the ICTD speaks with Jane Nalunga, Executive Director of SEATINI Uganda to learn about the organisation’s quest for tax justice and how it has enhanced the voices of citizens to demand accountability and effectively participate in fiscal policies. Can you provide us with a brief background of your organisation’s work? Nalunga: For…
The ninth session of the Conference of the Parties to the World Health Organization Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (or COP 9) wrapped up on November 13. The discussions saw 161 countries, UN agencies, other intergovernmental organisations and civil society groups consider strategies to implement tobacco control measures more effectively, including taxation, and to stop…
Many low and middle-income countries face a myriad of challenges. But policies that can address them are few and far between. The challenges include high and rising inequality, budget crises and the ongoing pandemic. In a set of recent outputs, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) presented an approach that they argue can tackle all three…
Rapid population growth, increased advertising by the tobacco industry, and growing tobacco consumption among young people in Africa all contribute to a projected massive tobacco-related burden of disease. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that one in five African adolescents use tobacco. The WHO also forecast a doubling of deaths related to tobacco use in low- and middle-income countries between 2002 and 2030. There…
The recent Pandora Papers leak has exposed yet again the scandal of how the world’s rich and powerful hide their wealth and avoid paying taxes. The revelations are particularly galling during a global pandemic, when tax revenue to invest in public services and social safety nets is more needed than ever. The pandemic has pushed…
For more than 30 years, the World Health Organization (WHO) has designated May 31 as World No Tobacco Day, which aims to inform the public of the danger of using tobacco, the leading preventable cause of death in the world. A looming threat Africa is vulnerable to the tobacco industry. While global smoking rates have…
While many economists and politicians have begun to talk seriously about using wealth taxes to raise government revenue and curb rising inequality, one in every four people globally are already subject to a similar taxation model called Zakat. In the form of Zakat, Muslims around the world who possess wealth over a particular threshold are…
What is the connection between taxation and more open societies that the British aid programme aims to support? In long-term historical perspective, it is very close. The societies that enjoy the most open, democratic and accountable government are also those that tax the most – and spend the most on making life better for their…
It is widely recognised that “business as usual” will not close the estimated financing gap of USD 2.5 trillion that is needed annually to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. United by this realisation, the members of the multi-stakeholder-partnership Addis Tax Initiative (ATI) recently presented the ATI Declaration 2025 to renew political buy-in…
Though education is a core duty of the state, public education in Sierra Leone is financed not only by the formal government budget and off-budget aid, but also by informal contributions, taxes, and fees paid by households. Since independence in 1961, the state has consistently supported the ideal of universal free primary education, though in…
