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Tax, Welfare and Inequality

Tax policy and tax administration can have a big impact on who does or does not pay their fair share, on economic incentives, and thus on levels of poverty and the distribution of income and welfare. Research under this theme focuses on developing a better understanding, in specific contexts, of the complex economic and political linkages between how governments tax, how their national economies perform, and how well their citizens live. Some of our specific concerns are: the taxation of high net worth individuals; efficient business taxation; and the taxation of socially-harmful activities like smoking tobacco.

  • Check our latest work on the taxation of high-net-worth individuals 

Research lead (Taxing the Wealthy): Dr Giovanni Occhiali

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News and events

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Event
Art card featuring Chenai Mukumba, with the text "The need for more inclusive, equitable tax and multilateral systems".
3 December 2025
Lecture: The need for more inclusive, equitable tax and multilateral systems

Fresh from the UN Tax Convention negotiations in Nairobi earlier this month, Mukumba will discuss why reforming the global tax architecture matters for everyone, not just the global South that is pushing for change….

News
Close up picture of a black man in a street protest in Africa about taxing the wealthy. A sign reads: Tax the rich 4 houses 4 the poor
October 2025
African tax leaders meet in Uganda to tackle effective taxation of the wealthy

The taxation of the wealthy represents one of the key challenges for tax professionals and policymakers across the world, including in Africa….

Event
16 October 2025
Taxing Smarter after Aid: Accountability, Equity and Public Finance in a New Global Reality

Join the ICTD, Accountability Lab, and the TAI Collaborative during the IMF/WB Annual Meetings for an afternoon of discussion on pressing fiscal and fairness issues in the ‘tax era of development’. …

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Related blogs

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Wide shot of a series of 6 apartments complexes that are under construction in Islamabad, Pakistan
June 2025|
Blog

Pakistan’s support for wealth taxes

by Max Gallien, Umair Javed & Vanessa van den Boogaard

In a context marked by deepening fiscal constraint, wealth taxes offer a potential solution for Pakistan as they have done in many other. …

Close up shot of a person's hands holding loads of Nigerian cash
March 2025|
Blog

Wealthy Africans often don’t pay tax: the answer lies in smarter collection

by Giovanni Occhiali

Wealthy Africans face lower effective tax rates than average citizens, replicating a trend already demonstrated for the relative tax burden of small and large companies. This situation is disheartening. But there are immediate steps that African revenue authorities can take to address this unfairness….

February 2025|
Blog

In the Midst of Conflict and Gang Rule: What Would Make Haiti’s Wealthy Supportive of Property Tax?

by Ana Isabel López García & Sarah Berens

Imagine living in a country where non-state actors provide most basic services instead of the state,…

December 2024|
Blog

Four priority areas for next year’s Financing for Development Conference

by Rhiannon McCluskey

At a recent UN side event, experts outlined how the new financing for development proposals on can be strengthened for better outcomes in four priority areas….

Ghana: A woman carries fruit on her head as she passes a mobile money stand in the Tesano neighborhood.
February 2023|
Blog

The Ghana e-levy: Can the latest rate reduction win greater public acceptance and increase revenue?

by Awa Diouf, Alex Ampaabeng, Mary Abounabhan & Hannelore Niesten

The reduced tax rate on electronic transactions is unlikely to satisfy Ghanaians given the country’s rising inflation…

Ugandan landscape shot with a small hut in left foreground, lakes centre and right background and a yellow sign that read mobile money airtime selling in front of the hut
October 2022|
Blog

How should Africa’s digital payments be taxed?

by Philip Mader

Africa’s governments need tax revenue to fund everything from education and social welfare to paying international debts. No wonder governments are eyeing digital financial services (DFS) – a rapidly growing, highly profitable industry – for additional revenue….

Research Projects

Current Project

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

Henry C. Edeh & Jane Ozor
Completed Project

The impact of mobile money taxation on financial inclusion: The case of the Kenyan excise duty

Marco Carrerras, Awa Diouf & Fabrizio Santoro
Current Project

Perceptions, Impact, and Equity of Mobile Money taxation: The case of Ghana’s E-levy

Awa Diouf, Mary Abounabhan & Carlos Sakyi-Nyarko
Completed Project

Taxation of High Net Worth Individuals in Sierra Leone

Jalia Kangave, Giovanni Occhiali & Ishmail Kamara
Current Project

The Political Economy of Progressive Property Tax Reform: Evidence from Pakistan

Ali Cheema, Shandana Khan Mohmand, Adnan Qadir Khan, Michael Carlos Best, Ali Abbas, Ahsan Zia Farooqui & Muhammad Ahmad Amin
Completed Project

Tobacco tax reform in West Africa

Prof Corné van Walbeek, REEP, Dr Hana Ross, REEP, Prof Abdoulaye Diagne, CRES, Dr Pape Yona Mané, CRES & Kirsten van der Zee, REEP
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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