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January 2021

Tax Certainty? The Private Rulings Regime in Uganda in Comparative Perspective

by Samuel Kahima, Solomon Rukundo & Victor Phillip Makmot

Taxpayers sometimes engage in complex transactions with uncertain tax treatment, such as mergers, acquisitions, demergers and spin-offs. With the rise of global value chains and proliferation of multinational corporations, these transactions increasingly involve transnational financial arrangements and cross-border dealings, making tax treatment even more uncertain. If improperly structured, such transactions could have costly tax consequences….

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December 2020

Simulating the Impact of COVID-19 on Formal Firms in South Africa

by Adrienne Lees, Giulia Mascagni & Michael Kilumelume

This note uses administrative tax data for formal firms to measure the direct impact of lockdown restrictions on firms’ profitability, employment, and exit rates. The authors separate the economy into three categories, according to the size of the shock experienced, and consider two lockdown scenarios: one lasting three months and one lasting five months. These…

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December 2020

At the Table, Off the Menu? Assessing the Participation of Lower-Income Countries in Global Tax Negotiations

by Rasmus Corlin Christensen, Martin Hearson & Tovony Randriamanalina

For half a century, the most influential international rules and standards for taxing multinational corporations have been formulated by a select group of developed countries, the OECD, with lower-income countries on the outside. Since 2013, this has changed: decision making at the OECD has moved to the ‘Inclusive Framework’ (IF), which today encompasses 137 jurisdictions….

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December 2020

At the Table, Off the Menu? Assessing the Participation of Lower-Income Countries in Global Tax Negotiations

by Rasmus Corlin Christensen, Martin Hearson & Tovony Randriamanalina

Since 2013, the formal structure of global corporate tax policymaking at the OECD has changed. Decisions are no longer made by 37 OECD members, but by 137 countries from all regions and levels of development through the ‘Inclusive Framework’ (IF). Official documentation emphasises that all countries participate on an ‘equal footing’, but some participants and…

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December 2020

Tax Amnesties in Africa: An Analysis of the Voluntary Disclosure Programme in Uganda

by Solomon Rukundo

Tax amnesties have taken centre stage as a compliance tool in recent years. The OECD estimates that since 2009 tax amnesties in 40 jurisdictions have resulted in the collection of an additional €102 billion in tax revenue. A number of African countries have introduced tax amnesties in the last decade, including Nigeria, Namibia, South Africa…

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December 2020

How Effective has the TADAT Framework Been in Improving Tax Administration in Uganda?

by Doris Akol, Margaret Magumba, Patrick Loke, Milly Nalukwago Isingoma & Tina Kaidu

Like several other revenue administrations, prior to the introduction of the Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool (TADAT) in Uganda, there was no comprehensive standard tool for assessing revenue administration against internationally recognised good practices. Detailed assessment was spread across different facets of revenue administration and indicators were not standardised. The first TADAT assessment of Uganda’s…

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December 2020

Gender and Tax Compliance: Firm Level Evidence from Ethiopia

by Seid Yimam & Fissha Asmare

Many Sub-Saharan African countries, characterised by government budget deficits, have been undergoing reforms and improvements to enhance tax revenue collection. However, such improvements often fall short of expectations and do not yield the expected revenue. These economies are highly vulnerable to tax avoidance and tax evasion, mainly due to the lack of a strong, modernised…

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December 2020

What is Wrong with African Tax Administration?

by Mick Moore

National tax administrations in sub-Saharan Africa have undergone considerable reform in recent decades. In several respects, they are, on average, more reformed and more efficient than tax administrations in other low-income regions. Many have made major organisational changes, responding effectively to a number of major challenges. This includes the introduction of VAT, a rather complex…

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December 2020

To File or Not To File? Another Dimension of Non-Compliance: The Eswatini Taxpayer Survey

by Fabrizio Santoro, Edward Groening, Winnie Mdluli & Mbongeni Shongwe

Non-filing of income tax takes place when taxpayers fail to submit a tax declaration, despite being liable to do so, thus becoming ghosts in the eyes of tax authorities. It is a widespread phenomenon in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Increasing evidence has been produced on non-filers in Rwanda, Uganda, Malawi, Kenya and Nigeria. Eswatini is no…

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December 2020

Strengthening Tax-Accountability Links: Fiscal Transparency and Taxpayer Engagement in Ghana and Sierra Leone

by Vanessa van den Boogaard, Wilson Prichard, Rachel Beach & Fariya Mohiuddin

Taxation is high on the international development agenda, largely due to growing evidence that it can not only provide sustainable development funding, but also contribute to expanded responsiveness and accountability in government. This is because: (i) when forced to pay taxes citizens are more likely to feel ownership of government revenues, and demand benefits in…

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December 2020

A Simplified Method for Taxing Multinationals for Developing Countries: Building on the ‘Amount B’ Proposal to Repair the Transactional Net Margin Method

by Michael C. Durst

The OECD’s Inclusive Framework is currently considering two substantial tax reform plans, Pillar One and Pillar Two. These are intended to develop a global consensus on methods for taxing the digitalised economy, but in their current form would have broad implications for international tax architecture in general, and particularly for the control of base erosion…

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