Dr Max Gallien

Research Fellow

Informality and Tax Co-Lead
Teaching and Learning Co-Lead

Max Gallien is a Research Fellow at the ICTD. His research specialises in the politics of informal and illegal economies, the political economy of the Middle East and North Africa and development politics. He completed his PhD at the London School of Economics. Max co-leads the informality and taxation programme with Vanessa, as well as the ICTD’s capacity building programme.

Publications

Research in Brief

The Politics of Passage: Roadblocks, Taxation, and Control in Conflict

August 2025
Peer Schouten, Max Gallien, Shalaka Thakur, Vanessa van den Boogaard, Florian Weigand & Tracy Beyuo
Policy Brief

The Tax Era of Development: Taxing Smarter for Equity, Growth, and Resilience

June 2025
Max Gallien, Martin Hearson, Giulia Mascagni, Giovanni Occhiali, Daisy Ogembo & Vanessa van den Boogaard
Policy Brief

Public Support for Wealth and Progressive Taxes in Pakistan

June 2025
Max Gallien, Umair Javed & Vanessa van den Boogaard
Factsheet

Zakat Payments in Pakistan Exceed State Social Protection

March 2025
Max Gallien, Umair Javed & Vanessa van den Boogaard
Policy Brief

Tax and Gender: Why Informality Matters

March 2025
Max Gallien, Eugénie Ribault, Michael Rogan & Vanessa van den Boogaard
Policy Brief

Simplified Taxation in Africa: What We Know – and Need to Know

February 2025
Max Gallien, Christopher Hoy, Hitomi Komatsu, Ceren Ozer, Michael Rogan & Vanessa van den Boogaard
See all Related Publications

Blogs

See all blogs
Wide shot of a series of 6 apartments complexes that are under construction in Islamabad, Pakistan
June 2025|
Blog

Pakistan’s support for wealth taxes

by Max Gallien, Umair Javed & Vanessa van den Boogaard

In a context marked by deepening fiscal constraint, wealth taxes offer a potential solution for Pakistan as they have done in many other. …
Photo of a phone screen sending mobile money load
April 2025|
Blog

Ghana’s e-levy: 3 lessons from the abolished mobile money tax

by Max Gallien, Martin Hearson & Mary Abounabhan

The e-levy’s intense politicisation and complex design made it an interesting case of a wider trend of mobile money taxes in the region. We learned more about the e-levy’s impact on informal sector workers in Accra, knowledge and sentiments, registered merchant exemptions and mobile money usage….
Wide shot of people in a street in Lahore, Pakistan.
March 2025|
Blog

Pakistanis are paying over 1.7 billion GBP in zakat every year—mostly to women

by Max Gallien, Umair Javed & Vanessa van den Boogaard

Every year, hundreds of millions of Muslims across the world pay a proportion – broadly 2,5%…
Wide shot of a large group of people facing the camera.
March 2025|
Blog

Reasons to be Optimistic about Tax and the Informal Sector

by Max Gallien & Vanessa van den Boogaard

There are many reasons to be anxious about the taxation of informal sectors in lower income…
picture of Makola market in Ghana
January 2025|
Blog

Effective and Equitable Formalisation within the Financing for Development Agenda

by Max Gallien

Max Gallien argues for key changes to the draft text of the Financing for Development outcome document, given that dominant strategies for formalising and taxing the informal economy are often ineffective and highly regressive. …
Man in protective gear throwing a box full of smuggled Malboro cigarettes in a shredding truck to destroy them.
June 2024|
Blog

Three myths on smuggling and taxes

by Max Gallien

Few topics attract as many myths and misconceptions as smuggling. As an activity that is more…

News and events

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Event
Webinar on presumptive taxes invitation card
17 September 2025
Webinar: Presumptive Taxes – What New Evidence Means for Policy and Practice

Presumptive taxes are one of the most used tools through which tax authorities engage with informal economies. However, until recently, there has been very limited research on their actual performance and impact….
News
July 2025
ICTD, WIEGO extend research partnership on informal sector taxation

The International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with global research and advocacy network WIEGO last week, formalising an existing collaboration on various research around informal sector taxation….
Event
Wide scenic shot from Ethiopia presenting greenery in the forefront and city skyline in the background. Superimposed on the image in the title on the ATI General Assembly event, dates and logo
23 July 2025
Session: Taxation and the informal economy: lessons and best practices

ICTD is organising at the 2025 ATI General Assembly a technical session on taxation and the informal economy….

Research Projects

Completed Project

The Role of Fiscal Policies in Cannabis Legalisation: Learning from Malawi’s Experience
Current Project

Informal taxation and gender in the informal economy in Accra

Max Gallien, Institute of Development Studies & Vanessa van den Boogaard, University of Toronto
Completed Project

Zakat, tax and the state: Obligation and charity in times of Covid-19

Max Gallien, Vanessa van den Boogaard, Umair Javed & Soukayna Remmal
See all Related Projects
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