ICTD Research Fellows author contributions to The Conversation
ICTD Research Fellows Vanessa van den Boogaard and Max Gallien have written articles on informal taxation in The Conversation. Vanessa highlighted her research from two projects in Gedo, southern Somalia in Citizens of fragile states can fund public services directly – it’s working in Somalia. Similarly, Vanessa and Max, alongside author Mike Rogan, wrote The World Bank and IMF are using flawed logic in their quest to do away with the informal sector, which is based on the findings of the recently published working paper Rethinking Formalisation: A Conceptual Critique and Research Agenda and the popular summary brief Taxing the Informal Economy is not a Silver Bullet for Financing Development or the COVID-19 Recovery.
Nigeria’s THISDAYLIVE features ICTD research on fuel subsidies
The ICTD’s research on fuel subsidies in Nigeria was recently featured in Nigerian national newspaper THISDAYLIVE in the article Fuel Subsidy Removal: FG, It’s Time to Change the Narrative. The article provides key research-based figures such as the size of the state’s subsidisation of gasoline – to the tune of USD 3.9 billion – which is almost double the country’s health budget. After the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed announced that Nigeria will remove fuel subsidies by 2022 and replace them with an N5000-a-month transportation grant to the poorest Nigerians, an ICTD survey cited in the article indicates that 70 per cent of Nigerians oppose the reduction or removal of subsidies.
ICTD’s Nigeria Tax & Subsidy Perception Dataset featured in Nigerian publications
Research based on the ICTD’s NESG dataset as well as the blog What Nigerians Really Think About Tax has been featured in two Nigerian newspapers, including The Guardian Nigeria News, and Daily Post Nigeria. The articles focus on Nigeria’s informal sector, with The Guardian quoting ICTD research which finds that “48% of Nigerians complained that getting information about taxes and how to pay is difficult and the ‘tax morale’ (people’s attitudes towards paying taxes) of citizens is extremely low.”
Senior Fellow Sol Picciotto featured in The Standard about his testimony before High Court on double tax agreements signed by Kenya
ICTD senior fellow Professor Sol Picciotto was reported on in Kenyan newspaper The Standard on the 7th of December, 2021 over his recent testimony before their High Court on double tax agreements signed by Kenya. You can read their article here.
Tax Notes International features ICTD research on participation of lower-income countries in global tax negotiations
The ICTD’s research on participation of lower-income countries in global tax negotiations was recently featured in Tax Notes International Vol. 104 in the article A New World Tax Order: The Inclusive Framework and Its Future. You can read the original working paper here.
Martin Hearson speaks about how the new global minimum tax will affect lower-income countries on the World Politics Review podcast
ICTD Research Fellow and international tax lead Dr Martin Hearson was invited to speak on the World Politics Review podcast Trend Lines. The episode, titled “The Global Minimum Tax Deal Could Short-Change Poorer Countries,” aired on October 27, 2021. In the episode, host Elliot Waldman interviews Martin about the new global tax deal negotiated under the auspices of the G20 and OECD, and particularly how the agreement will affect lower-income countries. Listen to the episode here, and find more of Martin’s work here.
Law 360 Tax Authority features ICTD Research on wealth taxes and tax compliance
The ICTD’s research on what lower-income countries should do to tax the wealthy was featured in Law 360 Tax Authority in the article Poor Nations Urged To Boost Enforcement Before Taxing Wealth.
ICTD Researchers publish Op-ed in Moroccan Media on Zakat
ICTD Research Fellows Dr Max Gallien, and Dr Vanessa van den Boogaard, along with Dr Umair Javid, assistant professor of politics and sociology at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and ICTD research officer Soukayna Remmal co-authored an opinion piece on the potential of a Zakat state fund in Morocco, published on Moroccan economic outlet Medias24. Their analysis is also available in English on our website here.
ICTD Research Fellow Vanessa van den Boogaard publishes Expert Analysis on Somalia on Africa Portal
ICTD Research fellow and informal tax lead Dr Vanessa van den Boogaard published an expert analysis on research repository Africa Portal discussing findings from her paper on informal taxation and collective action in Somalia. Download the full working paper 126 ‘Co-Financing Community-Driven Development Through Informal Taxation: Experimental Evidence from South-Central Somalia‘.
Kenyan Media Notes APTI Participation to ATRN
Three Kenyan media outlets, namely the Kenya News Agency, All Africa, and The Star have noted the distinguished participation of team members of the African Property Tax Initiative (APTI) to the 6th African Tax Research Network (ATRN) conference themed ‘Maximizing the Revenue Potential of Property Taxes through Digitization’ and organized by the African Tax Administration Forum .
The Kenya News Agency highlights “The African Property Tax Initiative established in 2017 by the International Centre for Tax and Development states that property taxes have a great potential to constitute a mainstay revenue stream for African Countries when properly harnessed.”
Tax Notes Reviews Martin Hearson’s Book Imposing Standards
Nana Ama Sarfo, contributing editor at Tax Notes International, reviewed our research fellow and international tax lead Dr Martin Hearson’s latest book “Imposing Standards: The North-South Dimension to Global Tax Politics.” In her review, Sarfo asserts “Imposing Standards arrives at a pivotal moment in international tax policymaking. To know where we are going, we must know where we have been. Yet what has been missing from international tax reform discourse is a serious, and robust, historical analysis. Hearson’s book shines a light on that historical narrative and illuminates some paths forward for lower-income countries trying to establish their own norms.” Read the full review here.