Centre

International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD)

The International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) is a global policy research network, devoted to improving the quality of tax policy and administration in developing countries, with a special focus on sub-Saharan Africa. It is led by Professor Mick Moore and funded by the UK Department for International Development and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Image: Former Commissioner General of the Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority, Beker Shale, being interviewed by journalists at the ICTD Annual Meeting in 2016. Credit: R.McCluskey - IDS/ICTD
Former Commissioner General of the Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority, Beker Shale, being interviewed by journalists at the ICTD Annual Meeting in 2016. Credit: R.McCluskey – IDS/ICTD

The ICTD’s primary objective is to provide research evidence that supports developing countries in raising domestic revenues equitably and sustainably, in a manner that is conducive to pro-poor economic growth and good governance. It does this by generating and disseminating research to policymakers and the public in order to broaden public debate on taxation issues in Africa. The ICTD also seeks to build the capacity of revenue authorities and academics in Africa to conduct research on tax issues through research collaboration and training.

Key ICTD research themes

Keep up to date with our work

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People

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Camilla Walsh

Project Manager, International Centre for Tax and Development

Ellie Sugg

Project Administrator

Image of Fabrizio Santoro
Fabrizio Santoro

Research Officer

Image of Giulia Mascagni
Giulia Mascagni

Research Fellow

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Jalia Kangave

Research Fellow

Image of Mick Moore
Mick Moore

Professorial Fellow

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Mustafa Roberts

Contracts and Compliance Manager

Image of Rhiannon McCluskey
Rhiannon McCluskey

Research Uptake and Communications Manager

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Recent work

Publication

Revenue Sharing in Mining in Africa: Empirical Proxies and Determinants of Government Take

Published by IDS

Revenues from mining constitute a significant development opportunity, particularly in income-poor but resource-rich countries in Africa. However, there is limited knowledge regarding the extent to which such countries have benefitted from the recent global mineral boom from 2003-2013. This paper finds existing approaches to testing rent theory to be a complicated basis for the assessment of resource revenue sharing between government and companies.

19 September 2018

Publication

Regulatory Burdens in Tax Administration and Firms’ Compliance Costs in Africa

Published by ICTD and IDS

This paper examines the effect of regulatory burdens related to tax administration on firms’ compliance costs in Africa. Using cross-country firm-level data, the results show that regulatory burdens related to tax administration significantly increase firms’ compliance costs compared to burdens related to other kinds of government regulations.

5 September 2018

Publication

Can ICTs Increase Tax? Experimental Evidence from Ethiopia

Published by ICTD and IDS

The widespread introduction of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and digitalised data management systems is one of the most important developments among African tax administrations in recent years. However, very little evidence is available on their effectiveness in practice, and how taxpayers respond to these changes. This paper starts filling this gap by reporting three sets of results from Ethiopia.

2 July 2018

Publication

Tax Reform for Low Income Countries: Five Ideas for Simplifying Tax Systems to Fit Local Realities

Published by ICTD and IDS

There is no silver bullet to strengthen the tax systems of low-income countries. Dramatic changes in tax systems and tax collection are rare. Successful improvements more often involve a great deal of hard and steady work, and the gradual construction of popular trust and (grudging) support for reform. There remains, however, space for ‘organising ideas’ that can help identify potentially underexplored and underexploited opportunities for reform.

Image of Mick Moore
Mick Moore
Image of Wilson Prichard
Wilson Prichard

28 June 2018

Publication

Integrating Tax Challenges of Local Market Traders in International Tax Justice Campaigns

Published by ICTD and IDS

This research in brief is a summary of ICTD Working Paper 80 by Kas Sempere : In the broad sense, ‘tax justice’ explores pro-poor and redistributive tax systems able to reduce inequality. It involves a transparent process of pro-poor collection (those who have less, pay less) and pro-poor expenditure (those who have less, receive more), for instance, through public services. Tax justice has become a popular concept at the international and national levels. For instance, reports and campaigns have exposed the unfairness of tax havens and harmful tax breaks. Yet, the idea of tax justice at the local level is less known and more needs to be done to unpack it.

5 June 2018

Publication

Tax Unrest Among Market Traders : The Local Side of ActionAid´s International Tax Justice Campaign in Nigeria

Published by ICTD and IDS

Tax justice has become a popular concept, and a number of international tax justice campaigns have exposed aspects such as the unfairness of tax havens and harmful tax breaks. Yet, the idea of tax justice at the local level is less well-known. The impact of campaigns to end tax havens and harmful tax competition may seem far from the lives and day-to-day tax struggles of many people living in poverty, including market traders in the informal sector. ActionAid, an international non-governmental organisation (NGO), managed, not without challenges, to integrate tax claims of market traders – such as multiple taxation – into its international tax justice campaign in Nigeria.

30 May 2018

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