The International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) has officially released its major report, Taxing Smarter: Advancing Reform Through Research and Partnership. This comprehensive publication serves as both a reflection on 15 years of rigorous research, a celebration of long-term partnerships and a strategic roadmap for the role of taxation in the next phase of global development finance.
The report arrives as the world enters what ICTD calls the “tax era of development“. With external aid retreating and debt servicing costs rising, domestic tax systems have become the primary source of development finance for governments in lower-income countries. But raising revenue in an equitable and sustainable way can be a challenge.
In her message reflecting on the Centre’s milestone, ICTD Executive Director, Giulia Mascagni, stated:
“ICTD has shown that better reform is possible when rigorous research is grounded in sustained partnerships that keep it connected to the realities of tax policy and administration. As pressures intensify, our task is to deepen that work: to help partners navigate fiscal, administrative, and political constraints, and use evidence to identify practical reforms that can raise revenue, advance equity, support growth, and strengthen public trust.”
What we’ve learned: the road to revenue is not in taxing harder but smarter
A central focus of the report is the importance of “taxing smarter”: choosing reforms that are effective, equitable, and efficient while remaining grounded in local realities. The publication distils 15 years of findings into three pivotal lessons:
- Tax reforms will fail when they ignore local realities, administrative constraints and political incentives.
- Digitalisation, the use of administrative tax data and collaboration with researchers has revolutionised the ability to test interventions and analyse compliance patterns.
- Equity is not a by-product of reform. It must be built into reform choices from the start to ensure sustainable revenue and public trust.
Driving reform through evidence
The report highlights the impact of ICTD’s unique model of co-produced research, where evidence is generated in direct collaboration with local partners. It showcases transformative impacts in four key areas:
- New evidence on who really pays and the distribution realities of tax systems, revealing important gaps between formal policy design and real-world outcomes.
- Practical evidence on tax administrative choices, helping governments design reforms that are grounded in how tax systems actually operate.
- Making global tax negotiations more informed and inclusive by strengthening the evidence base, developed practical analytical tools, and informed policy debates.
- Helping foster research cultures – through long-term partnerships, capacity building workshops, an annual mentorship course, and PhD scholarships – where evidence-based decision-making is increasingly becoming standard practice rather than an exception.
New frontiers for taxing smarter
Looking ahead, the report identifies critical questions that will define the next decade. These new frontiers of research and practice include exploring how taxation can enable inclusive growth, navigating the politics of debt and protest, and ensuring that digitalisation and AI expand fiscal capacity without deepening inequality or mistrust. The report also addresses the urgent need for tax systems to support environmental stewardship and build resilience in fragile contexts.
Doris Akol, Chair of the ICTD Centre Advisory Group and former Commissioner General of the Uganda Revenue Authority, said:
“Getting tax right is one of the defining development challenges of this moment. Drawing on 15 years of rigorous research and partnership, ICTD is uniquely placed to help shape the fairer, more effective and more accountable tax systems that the future of development demands.”
The full report is now available here.
