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Tax Administration and Compliance

Many of the challenges low-income countries face in mobilising domestic resources are related to tax administration as much as tax policy. Our research on this theme encompasses all aspects of tax administration, from technology adoption, to data management and strategies for collecting revenue from different types of taxpayers. Tax compliance is a key focus, as low-income countries struggle with widespread evasion, corruption, and limited administrative capacity. Our research on compliance includes survey-based studies of taxpayers’ perceptions and attitudes, case studies, and large-scale field experiments.

Research lead: Dr Giulia Mascagni

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News and events

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News
Zoom out shot of the Eswatini Revenue Service building
May 2026
National tax compliance survey launched in Eswatini

The International Centre for Tax and Development, in partnership with the Eswatini Revenue Service, has launched a taxpayer compliance survey, covering five main urban centres – Manzini, Mbabane, Matsapha, Ezulwini, and Nhlangano – aimed at building a clearer picture of taxpayer behaviour, compliance costs, and perceptions of the tax system in Eswatini….

News
Adrienne Lees ans Sripriya Srivatsa, the two early-career researchers who submitted their PhD theses
March 2026
ICTD early-career researchers submit PhDs, advancing tax research in low-income countries

The International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) is proud to announce that two of its…

Event
rt card for the launch of 'Admin Data for Tax Justice' initiative, featuring ICTD's Giovanni Occhiali.
15 December 2025
Admin Data for Tax Justice: Global launch of a new initiative advancing the use of administrative data for tax research

ICTD Research Fellow Giovanni Occhiali will join a high-level panel during the launch of Tax Justice Network’s ‘Admin Data for Tax Justice’ database….

Featured Publications

Policy Brief

Digital IDs and Digital Payments – Opportunities and Challenges for Tax Administration

April 2024
Fabrizio Santoro, Wilson Prichard & Giulia Mascagni
Policy Brief

Getting Targets Right: How Much Revenue can Lower-Income Countries Raise?

March 2024
Max Gallien, Adrienne Lees & Giulia Mascagni
Policy Brief

Why Mass Tax Registration Campaigns Do Not Work

July 2023
Max Gallien, Giulia Mascagni, Mick Moore, Giovanni Occhiali, Wilson Prichard, Fabrizio Santoro, Celeste Scarpini & Vanessa van den Boogaard
Working Paper

Active Ghosts: Nil-filing in Rwanda

May 2020
Giulia Mascagni, Fabrizio Santoro, Denis Mukama, John Karangwa & Naphtal Hakizimana
See all Related Publications

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Related blogs

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Digital Eye Pakistan
May 2026|
Blog

Using technology to encourage voluntary compliance: Digital Eye in Pakistan

With support from the REMIT programme, Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue is deploying new technologies to try and boost tax collections, and Digital Eye is leading the way….

Medium-rise buildings along a road, with a prominent yellow building sticking out
April 2026|
Blog

The IRD is finding its mojo

by Mick Moore

The government recently promised to build the department a new HQ. Not entirely coincidentally, the IRD itself has recently begun to look more lively and pro-active….

Empty prison building in a circular architecture
February 2026|
Blog

The Panopticon taxman: How digital surveillance is impacting tax compliance in Uganda

by Adrienne Lees, Maria Jouste, Joseph Okello Ayo, Nicholas Musoke & Marie-France Boucher

In the 18th century, philosopher Jeremy Bentham envisioned the panopticon: a circular prison where guards could…

Man in the middle of the frame sitting on a table in a conference room with people around him either in the background or sitting near him on the same table. The man is not looking at the camera but is focused writing on a paper in front of him.
August 2025|
Blog

From agriculture to tax: How the ICTD course changed one man’s career

by Seid Yimam Mohamed & Stephanie Alkoussa

After completing the ICTD Research on Tax and Development course, Seid Yimam experienced a career switched, he shares more in this interview….

A three-floor building of clothing shops in a market
June 2025|
Blog

Uganda’s tax system is a drain on small businesses: how to set them free

by Adrienne Lees

The complexity of Uganda’s tax system makes for a time-consuming tax filing process, compounded by low taxpayer knowledge and high levels of distrust in the Uganda Revenue Authority. The time, money, and effort incurred by taxpayers to meet their tax obligations adds to their total tax burden….

A customer counts cash before having funds transferred to his phone at a mobile money exchange.
April 2025|
Blog

Taxes, trust, and transparency: Lessons for Ghana’s fiscal future

by Avi Ahuja

Ghanaian President John Mahama’s government presented its much-awaited 2025 budget last month. In it, Finance Minister…

Research Projects

The interpersonal side of tax compliance: interactions between taxpayers and tax officials in Rwanda

Completed Project

Gender and Tax Compliance

Sripriya Iyengar Srivasta
Completed Project

Tax Compliance Costs: Uganda

Adrienne Lees
Completed Project

Women in Ethiopian Tax Administrations: Evidence on representation and performance

Seid Yimam Mohamend & Yalew Mekonnen
Current Project

What is the distributional impact of the income and consumption tax reforms in Liberia?

Henry C. Edeh & Jane Ozor
Completed Project

An Introduction to Digital Tax Payment Systems in Low-and Middle-Income Countries

Moyosore Arewa & Fabrizio Santoro
See all Related Projects
[email protected]
+44 (0) 1273 606261
International Centre for Tax and Development, Institute of Development Studies (IDS) Brighton, BN1 9RE, United Kingdom
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