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Showing 1-12 of 26 Blogs
Ghana: A woman carries fruit on her head as she passes a mobile money stand in the Tesano neighborhood.
February 2023|
Blog

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

by 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…

Photo of women of Takalafiya-Lapai village, Niger State, Nigeria
January 2023|
Blog

Mobile money tax: Is there a gender gap?

by Hannelore Niesten & Mary Abounabhan

Gender and tax: As Africa increasingly introduces specific taxes on digital financial services (DFS) such as mobile money, do DFS taxes exacerbate or reduce gender inequality?…

Ugandan landscape shot with a small hut in left foreground, lakes centre and right background and a yellow sign that read mobile money airtime selling in front of the hut
October 2022|
Blog

How should Africa’s digital payments be taxed?

by Philip Mader

Africa’s governments need tax revenue to fund everything from education and social welfare to paying international debts. No wonder governments are eyeing digital financial services (DFS) – a rapidly growing, highly profitable industry – for additional revenue….

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….

August 2022|
Blog

How the Taliban’s more effective and ‘fairer’ tax system helped it win control of Afghanistan

by Ashley Jackson

When the Taliban dramatically gained control of Afghanistan in August 2021, they used bombs and guns to swiftly overcome state security forces. But they also had another valuable and effective weapon at their disposal: taxes….

June 2022|
Blog

How will the E-levy impact the informal sector in Ghana?

by Rhiannon McCluskey & Philipa Birago Akuoko

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….

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…

rickety bridge built next to broken bridge
July 2021|
Blog

Informal taxation in Nigeria: Significance, benefits and challenges

by Jacob Aondohemba Iormbagah

Across Nigeria, a journey through rural communities and interaction with community members will expose you to…

image of a cannabis plant
June 2021|
Blog

Cannabis taxation – A new revenue source for development?

by Max Gallien, Giovanni Occhiali & Soukayna Remmal

In recent years, the legalisation of cannabis – initially for medical use, and increasingly for recreational…