International Centre for Tax and Development

Tax Ombudsmen exist in many countries. They are independent officials (or offices) whose role is to help taxpayers resolve disputes with tax authorities – fairly, quickly and without cost. In essence, they are intended to protect taxpayers from unfair treatment at the hands of tax authorities. The basis of the case for Tax Ombudsmen is the understanding that, in many countries, the balance of negotiating power between taxpayers and tax authorities is weighted too much in favour of the latter.

Many lower-income countries have spent years incorporating international tax rules into their legal frameworks. But how these rules actually function once embedded in domestic systems is a different question – and one that has received far less attention. New research from the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) puts that question at the centre.

© Image by Erin Johnson/Flickr Welcome to our workshop on ‘Tax and Informal Economies in Africa: Charting Ways Forward’, hosted by the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD), in collaboration with the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) and Women in Informal Employment: Globalising and Organising (WIEGO). This page contains relevant information about the event — including the format, agenda, and relevant reserach — and is intended for participants only.

Research in Brief 177 Over the past two decades, lower-income countries, donors, and international organisations have devoted considerable effort to strengthening lower-income countries’ capacity to tax cross-border economic activity. Much effort has centred on adopting and implementing international tax standards developed in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) bodies. Yet critics have long argued that these standards are poorly suited to lower-income contexts.

African Tax Administration Paper 44 This study examines Somalia’s intergovernmental customs competition and fragmentation of the income taxation system, and considers their impact on revenue mobilisation. It employs a mixed-methods approach, integrating documentary and literature review, and structured interviews with 20 government and business representatives.

Working Paper 243 This paper explores Nigeria’s nuanced approach to the adoption and implementation of international tax standards (ITS), incorporating insights from key stakeholders. The study is part of ICTD’s research project ‘Comparative Perspectives on International Tax from the Global South’. Nigeria selectively evaluates, adopts, modifies, or rejects global tax norms to align with domestic economic realities and policy objectives.

The IMF’s macroeconomic assessments and recommendations are highly influential in shaping fiscal policy in developing countries, including taxation. This is due to the IMF’s leverage over indebted countries and the impact of assessments in surveillance reports on financial markets among other channels. This project aims to identify whether and to what extent the IMF has included welfare considerations, such as equity, redistribution, and fairness, in its tax policy agenda over time.

Over the past two decades, lower-income countries, donors, and international organisations have devoted considerable effort to strengthening lower-income countries’ capacity to tax cross-border economic activity. Much of this effort has centred on adopting and implementing international tax standards developed in bodies of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Yet critics have long argued that these standards are poorly suited to lower-income contexts.

Understanding the drivers of tax compliance is a major concern for academics and policymakers alike, especially in low-income countries where revenue mobilisation is crucial for sustainable provisions of vital public services. Despite the ever-growing interest in taxation research in the global South, the existing literature often considers the taxpayer-government relationship as a bilateral one.

Tax reforms are highly political processes – several scholars have previously noted that success depends on building successful coalitions for reform; strengthening legitimacy and trust of the institutions and processes involved among taxpayers; and effective enforcement and administration.