The International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) and the Addis Tax Initiative (ATI) have joined forces to advance evidence-based approaches to tax and informality. The collaboration will connect research with tax practitioners and experts, focusing on fair and effective domestic revenue mobilisation.
The partnership starts with a three-part webinar series in the final quarter of 2026, with the first one set for the 30th of September. Meeting online every month, the sessions will explore how governments can broaden the tax base without measures that deliver limited revenue or raise concerns about fairness. Discussions will cover assumptions about the informal economy, the limits of simplified tax regimes and mass registration campaigns, and ways to reach higher-income operators outside the tax net. A third session will examine alternative approaches to broadening the tax base, including digital service taxation.
Max Gallien, Research Director and co-lead of ICTD’s Informality and Tax programme, said:
“Debates about tax and informality are often shaped by assumptions rather than evidence.”
He added:
“Through this collaboration with ATI, we want to create a space where policymakers, practitioners, and researchers can engage with the latest evidence, learn from country experiences, and explore approaches that are both effective and equitable. Our aim is to support more informed policy discussions and, ultimately, better outcomes for revenue authorities and taxpayers alike.”
From evidence to practical reform
The series draws on informality and tax research by ICTD and its Community of Practice on Tax and Informality, with more than 300 policymakers, researchers and civil society representatives. It also supports the Addis Tax Initiative’s commitment to fair, efficient and transparent revenue systems under Action 1 of the Seville Declaration on Domestic Resource Mobilisation.
The collaboration addresses a persistent gap: research on taxing informal economies does not always translate into administrative practice. The webinars will bring together tax administrations, researchers, civil society, and development partners to exchange evidence, country experiences, and practical perspectives, and to identify questions and tools for a practical capacity-building component planned for 2027. After the webinars, the next phase would seek to support revenue authorities in assessing current practices, using data and considering policy options.
The ATI-ICTD initiative aims to move the discussion beyond registration towards approaches that are cost-effective, equitable, and grounded in the realities of informal economies.
Join the first webinar on Sep 30
The inaugral webinar of the series, titled ‘Taxing informal sectors: Complicated questions and simplified regimes’, will provide a wider introduction to recent research and evidence on taxation of informal sectors in lower-income country contexts. Check out this page to register.
