The Interpersonal Side of Tax Compliance: Interactions Between Taxpayers and Tax Officials in Rwanda
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Research in Brief 169
In the growing body of research on tax administration in low-income countries (LICs), one key aspect has received little attention – its interpersonal nature. Taxpayers in LICs interact with tax officials more often than those in higher income contexts, and their taxpaying experience is shaped by their interactions with the people who implement tax rules and laws. These interactions have the potential to affect taxpayers’ views on tax administration and compliance, with implications for revenue mobilisation.
Against this background, this research investigates two questions:
What is the attitude of tax officials in interactions with taxpayers – from the perspective of both tax officials and taxpayers?
How do the attitudes and actions of tax officials affect taxpayers’ perceptions and their attitude to compliance?
Giulia Mascagni is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies and Executive Director of the ICTD. Her main area of work is taxation, but she also has research interest in public finance, evaluation of public policy, and aid effectiveness. She is an economist by training, holding a PhD in Economics from the University of Sussex. Her main geographical interest lies in African countries, with a particular focus on Ethiopia and Rwanda.
Celeste Scarpini is a Research Officer at the ICTD, and a PhD student at the Department of Economics, University of Sussex. Her main research interests relate to tax administration in sub-Saharan Africa, from technology adoption to data management and revenue collection strategies.
Fabrizio Santoro is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, and is the co-lead for our programme of work on Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). Previously, he was Research Lead for the second component of the ICTD's DIGITAX Research Programme. His main research interests relate to governance, public finance, and taxation, with a strong focus on impact evaluation methodologies and statistical analysis. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Sussex.
Citation: Mascagni, G.; Scarpini, C.; Mukama, D.; Santoro, F. and Hakizimana, N. (2025) The Interpersonal Side of Tax Compliance: Interactions Between Taxpayers and Tax Officials in Rwanda, ICTD Research in Brief 169, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies, DOI: 10.19088/ICTD.2025.050
