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Showing 1-12 of 13 Blogs
Two market traders walking by cars with baskets of goods over their heads
March 2023|
Blog

Ghana’s e-levy is unfair to the poor and misses its revenue target: a lesson in mobile money tax design

by Vanessa van den Boogaard, Max Gallien, Nana Akua Anyidoho & Mike Rogan

The levy’s effects – on Ghana’s public finances, its poor, mobile money usage –have been at the centre of intense and polarising public conversations, much of it without empirical basis….

Red vodafone mobile money kiosk in Ghana
October 2022|
Blog

New data on the e-levy in Ghana: unpopular tax on mobile money transfers is hitting the poor hardest

by Vanessa van den Boogaard, Max Gallien, Mike Rogan & Nana Akua Anyidoho

In Ghana, the “e-levy” has been linked to the current administration’s “Ghana Beyond Aid” strategy for reducing aid dependence….

woman-in-afghanistan
March 2022|
Blog

Why do armed groups tax? It’s not just about the money

by Vanessa van den Boogaard, Max Gallien, Ashley Jackson, Tanya Bandula-Irwin & Florian Weigand

In this blog, the authors argue that revenue is only one of several motives that explain why armed groups tax….

People_informal_market_Nigeria
November 2021|
Blog

The World Bank and IMF are using flawed logic in their quest to do away with the informal sector

by Vanessa van den Boogaard, Max Gallien & Mike Rogan

Many low and middle-income countries face a myriad of challenges. But policies that can address them…

Community driven development in Somalia
October 2021|
Blog

Citizen-led financing of public services in fragile contexts: New evidence from Somalia

by Vanessa van den Boogaard

Two billion people live in countries where development outcomes are affected by fragility, conflict, and violence….

Moroccan dirhams
October 2021|
Blog

Would Moroccans accept a state zakat fund? Should they?

by Vanessa van den Boogaard, Max Gallien, Soukayna Remmal & Umair Javed

Zakat can add up to big money. Although estimates vary, some suggest that global annual zakat…

Classroom in a school in Sierra Leone
November 2020|
Blog

The inequity of informal financing of public education in Sierra Leone

by Vanessa van den Boogaard

Though education is a core duty of the state, public education in Sierra Leone is financed…

People advocating for Tax justice
July 2020|
Blog

Building coalitions to promote equitable taxation beyond the Covid era

by Vanessa van den Boogaard, Jason Lakin & Paolo de Renzio

This piece is co-published with the International Budget Partnership.  Since its onset, governments the world over…

Protest for MPs to pay their taxes in Uganda
June 2020|
Blog

How can civil society help achieve more equitable and accountable tax systems?

by Vanessa van den Boogaard

There is growing international attention on tax collection in low-income countries. This attention is only amplifying…

Market with street vendors
April 2020|
Blog

Unpacking Formalisation: The need for a new research agenda on taxation and the informal economy

by Vanessa van den Boogaard & Max Gallien

ICTD Informality and Taxation blog series The ICTD’s Informality and Tax programme seeks to conduct, connect,…

Street vendors
April 2020|
Blog

To fight Covid-19, only the formal economy is getting tax breaks. The informal economy may be asked to foot the bill

by Vanessa van den Boogaard & Max Gallien

As the world grapples with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, vulnerable workers in the informal…

Ebola check point
March 2020|
Blog

Fill the gaps, feel the pain: Insights from Sierra Leone on an epidemic’s impact on local taxation, public services, and the poor

by Vanessa van den Boogaard

With over 16,000 deaths globally and the number of cases growing each day, the calamitous impacts…