Engendering Taxation: A Research and Policy Agenda

Increased attention has been paid to the gender dimensions of taxation; however, there has been limited research on the subject, particularly in lower-income contexts. Understanding how tax policy and administration in lower-income countries affect women’s ability to participate in the workforce and carry out care work is critical for ensuring development with gender justice. This paper reviews the existing literature and related debates on gender and tax in lower-income countries, identifying knowledge gaps and mapping broader issues relevant to understanding the gendered impacts of taxation.

The authors show that tax policies can be made gender-neutral by paying greater attention to how they affect women differently. At the same time, governments can explore policies that positively discriminate as a means of addressing structural gendered inequalities. While the authors draw attention to the importance of engendering taxation, they recognise that tax policy may not always be the most appropriate way to address underlying gender inequalities and implicit tax biases. Nevertheless, an awareness of how tax policy and administration affects gender is necessary to ensure a more equal and progressive tax system.