This research sets out to answer two main research questions. They include: What is the impact of Ratified Tax Treaties on small business development in the African region? Are there heterogeneous differences in this impact when considering the treaty partner, the type of treaty, and the proportion of foreign ownership of small businesses in the…
Read moreThis paper asks two interrelated questions, one focusing on a substantive issue, and the other focusing on methodological issues. First, what countries are most aggressive in clipping taxing rights through tax treaties in Africa? Second, how sensitive are the findings to different measures of treaty content and aggressiveness? In the context of efforts to mobilise…
Read moreIn this project, we aim to investigate the role ethnicity plays in shaping attitudes toward taxation and the state. In particular, does ethnicity or other vendor-specific attributes attenuate (or reinforce) the effect of improved information on formal tax compliance and pro-tax attitudes? The proposed qualitative research builds upon and is informed by novel findings that…
Read moreThis project will look at the economic activities and taxes reported by large US MNCs in low- and middle-income countries – in contrast with other countries and other data sources. The researchers will present all the information in a paper that could be published in an ICTD working paper series and submitted to a leading…
Read moreThe central question we want to address is whether African countries should consider taxing profits from international shipping derived by non-resident shipping companies and which are the policy options available for them to do so. We believe the question fits in with current calls in international tax demanding for the re-evaluation of the century-old rules…
Read moreThis study will provide evidence-based analysis of tobacco taxation in Ghana. The main research theme addressed will be to assess best practices in tobacco taxation centering on the impact of tobacco tax increases on the retail price of tobacco products, tobacco consumption and government tax revenue. We hypothesize that this will provide the evidence needed…
Read moreThis research programme seeks to address four overlapping questions through a combination of (a) randomized controlled interventions in the reform programme, (b) exploiting discontinuities in the implementation of reform to identify causal impacts, (c) systematic tracing of the impact of the reform programme on popular attitudes and behaviours, and (d) the mapping of compliance data…
Read moreThis study seeks to contribute to the scant literature on the impact of prices on smoking onset and cessation in LMICs by investigating the following research questions, with a focus on Nigeria: What is the impact of cigarette prices on smoking onset? What is the impact of cigarette prices on smoking cessation? The study is…
Read moreHow do government actions toward the poor influence other citizens’ perceptions of the government? Does making citizens aware of forced evictions – used by the government in the name of development – reduce their willingness to invest in the capacity of the government by paying taxes? We seek to build upon our 2018 pilot survey…
Read moreThe proposed research will answer three research questions: (1) Do regions that have historically received more tax revenue have better tax morale? (2) What type of tax allocation in the form of public service provision increases tax morale? (3) Can oil producing regions turn the use of revenue from the 13% fund into higher tax…
Read moreDomestic revenue mobilization is a priority for many SSA countries. Yet, low tax compliance constitutes a major challenge to this drive. Improving tax compliance will require an understanding of the underlying factors influencing a taxpayer’s decision to either pay taxes or not. However, little is known about tax compliance behaviour in most SSA countries; insights…
Read moreOne of the foremost challenges to state-building in weak states is the collection of sufficient revenue for the government to supply public goods. If weak states seek to expand the size of their tax base and the overall revenue collected, can improved information or other appeals boost pro-tax attitudes and formal tax compliance? This project…
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