Wilson Prichard
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View article: Norms, Power, and the Socially Embedded Realities of Market Taxation in Northern Ghana
Norms, Power, and the Socially Embedded Realities of Market Taxation in Northern Ghana Open
This paper provides insights into how daily informal realities shape local government taxation. It draws on qualitative data collected in markets in Lawra and Yendi, two districts in Northern Ghana, in 2011 and 2012. The paper contributes …
View article: Tax Revenue Mobilisation in Conflict-affected Developing Countries
Tax Revenue Mobilisation in Conflict-affected Developing Countries Open
Taxation is central to state building in post-conflict states. This reflects both the urgent need for revenue during post-conflict reconstruction and the broader governance implications of taxation related to state capacity building and th…
View article: Taxing the Wealthy in Lower-Income Countries: Why It’s Important, and How to Do It
Taxing the Wealthy in Lower-Income Countries: Why It’s Important, and How to Do It Open
The world is experiencing multiple crises, including increasing global tension, skyrocketing debt levels, and climate change. Lower-income countries (LICs) are bearing the brunt of these crises. Their finances, both from domestic sources a…
View article: China's Challenge to International Tax Rules and the Implications for Global Economic Governance
China's Challenge to International Tax Rules and the Implications for Global Economic Governance Open
Twentieth century institutions of global economic governance face a profound challenge adapting to the rise of emerging markets and, especially, China's rise. This is especially the case for the international tax regime, whose institutiona…
View article: The Political Economy of Property Tax in Africa: Explaining Reform Outcomes in Sierra Leone
The Political Economy of Property Tax in Africa: Explaining Reform Outcomes in Sierra Leone Open
Effective local government taxation is critical to achieving the governance beneï¬ ts widely attributed to decentralization, but in practice successful tax reform has been rare because of entrenched political resistance. This article offer…
View article: Taxing the Informal Economy: The Current State of Knowledge and Agendas for Future Research
Taxing the Informal Economy: The Current State of Knowledge and Agendas for Future Research Open
This paper reviews the literature on taxation of the informal economy, taking stock of key debates and drawing attention to recent innovations. Conventionally, the debate on whether to tax has frequently focused on the limited revenue pote…
View article: Electoral Competitiveness, Tax Bargaining and Political Incentives in Developing Countries: Evidence from Political Budget Cycles Affecting Taxation
Electoral Competitiveness, Tax Bargaining and Political Incentives in Developing Countries: Evidence from Political Budget Cycles Affecting Taxation Open
Studies of political budget cycles in developing countries have generally sought to inform understanding of short-term fiscal dynamics, but can also offer unique insight into broader political dynamics in developing countries. This article…
View article: Rebuilding Local Government Finances After Conflict: Lessons from a Property Tax Reform Programme in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone
Rebuilding Local Government Finances After Conflict: Lessons from a Property Tax Reform Programme in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone Open
This research interrogates the factors underpinning the relative success of a property tax reform programme in Sierra Leone. Recognising the importance of politics in shaping reform outcomes, it highlights reform strategies that have contr…
View article: Digital IDs and Digital Payments – Opportunities and Challenges for Tax Administration
Digital IDs and Digital Payments – Opportunities and Challenges for Tax Administration Open
Tax administrations in Africa and, more broadly, low-income countries (LICs), are increasingly investing in advanced digital technologies, in an effort to build more effective, rules-based and efficient tax systems. Those efforts fit withi…
View article: The Politics of Taxation and Tax Reform in Times of Crisis: Covid-19 and Attitudes Towards Taxation in Sierra Leone
The Politics of Taxation and Tax Reform in Times of Crisis: Covid-19 and Attitudes Towards Taxation in Sierra Leone Open
A key question facing governments is whether the pandemic has changed attitudes towards taxation and what this means for tax reform. Given that the history of tax policy in high-income countries reveals a link between periods of crisis and…
View article: Unpacking ‘Tax Morale’: Distinguishing Between Conditional and Unconditional Views of Tax Compliance
Unpacking ‘Tax Morale’: Distinguishing Between Conditional and Unconditional Views of Tax Compliance Open
The concept of ‘tax morale’ seeks to capture an individual’s willingness (or unwillingness) to pay taxes. The study of tax morale in lower-income countries is significant for understanding “quasi-voluntary” tax compliance, popular support …
View article: Why Mass Tax Registration Campaigns Do Not Work
Why Mass Tax Registration Campaigns Do Not Work Open
In recent years, policymakers and donors have become increasingly interested in the use of mass registration campaigns as a tool to expand the tax nets of lower-income countries. While registering taxpayers is common – and indeed necessary…
View article: The Politics of Taxation and Tax Reform in Times of Crisis: Covid-19 and Attitudes Towards Taxation in Sierra Leone
The Politics of Taxation and Tax Reform in Times of Crisis: Covid-19 and Attitudes Towards Taxation in Sierra Leone Open
The Covid-19 pandemic has had significant fiscal implications around the world. A key question facing governments is whether and how the pandemic has shaped taxpayer attitudes and what that means for the prospects for tax reform and new re…
View article: Unpacking ‘Tax Morale’: Distinguishing Between Conditional and Unconditional Views of Tax Compliance
Unpacking ‘Tax Morale’: Distinguishing Between Conditional and Unconditional Views of Tax Compliance Open
The past decade has witnessed a surge in international interest in the importance of tax morale. This is often defined, broadly, as taxpayer’s ‘non-pecuniary motivations for tax compliance’ (Luttmer and Singhal 2014: 150) – as a key compon…
View article: Should Governments Tax Digital Financial Services? A Research Agenda to Understand Sector-Specific Taxes on DFS
Should Governments Tax Digital Financial Services? A Research Agenda to Understand Sector-Specific Taxes on DFS Open
Digital financial services (DFS) have rapidly expanded across Africa and other low-income countries. At the same time, low-income countries face strong pressures to increase domestic resource mobilisation, and major challenges in taxing th…
View article: Digital Financial Services and Digital IDs: What Potential do They Have for Better Taxation in Africa?
Digital Financial Services and Digital IDs: What Potential do They Have for Better Taxation in Africa? Open
New digital technologies are now being widely used in Africa and lower-income countries (LICs). This has had an impact on tax administration, which has been increasingly digitised. Specifically Digital Financial Services (DFS) and digital …
View article: Enabling Tax Bargaining: Supporting More Meaningful Tax Transparency and Taxpayer Engagement in Ghana and Sierra Leone
Enabling Tax Bargaining: Supporting More Meaningful Tax Transparency and Taxpayer Engagement in Ghana and Sierra Leone Open
Motivation While there is increasing evidence that taxation can contribute to greater government responsiveness and accountability, such positive outcomes are not guaranteed. If the environment does not enable tax bargaining, there is a ri…
View article: Strengthening Tax-Accountability Links: Fiscal Transparency and Taxpayer Engagement in Ghana and Sierra Leone
Strengthening Tax-Accountability Links: Fiscal Transparency and Taxpayer Engagement in Ghana and Sierra Leone Open
There is increasingly strong evidence that taxation can contribute to expanded government responsiveness and accountability. However, such positive connections are not guaranteed. Rather, they are shaped by the political and economic conte…
View article: Simplifying Property Tax Administration in Africa: Piloting a Points-Based Valuation in Freetown, Sierra Leone
Simplifying Property Tax Administration in Africa: Piloting a Points-Based Valuation in Freetown, Sierra Leone Open
The current method of property valuation in Freetown, Sierra Leone is highly inaccurate and generally regressive, as it does not take subjective property characteristics that are major determinants of value into account. The newly elected …
View article: Innovations in Tax Compliance : Conceptual Framework
Innovations in Tax Compliance : Conceptual Framework Open
This paper presents a conceptual
\n framework for developing more effective approaches to tax
\n reform and compliance. The framework proposes that by
\n combining complementary investments in enforcement,
\n facilitation, and trust, refor…
View article: China’s challenge to international tax rules
China’s challenge to international tax rules Open
States are currently struggling to reach global agreement on the taxation of digital firms such as Apple and Google, suggesting that an international regime characterised by impressive coherence over a century may be beginning to fragment.…
View article: China's challenge to international tax rules and the implications for global economic governance
China's challenge to international tax rules and the implications for global economic governance Open
Twentieth century institutions of global economic governance face a profound challenge adapting to the rise of emerging markets and, especially, China's rise. This is especially the case for the international tax regime, whose institutiona…
View article: Informal taxation in Sierra Leone: Magnitudes, perceptions and implications
Informal taxation in Sierra Leone: Magnitudes, perceptions and implications Open
In low-income countries, citizens often pay ‘taxes’ that differ substantially from what is required by statute. These non-statutory taxes are central to financing both local public goods and maintaining informal governance institutions. Th…
View article: Taxing Africa : Coercion, Reform and Development
Taxing Africa : Coercion, Reform and Development Open
Taxation has been seen as the domain of charisma-free accountants, lawyers and number crunchers – an unlikely place to encounter big societal questions about democracy, equity or good governance. Yet it is exactly these issues that pervade…
View article: Norms, Networks, Power and Control: Understanding Informal Payments and Brokerage in Cross-Border Trade in Sierra Leone
Norms, Networks, Power and Control: Understanding Informal Payments and Brokerage in Cross-Border Trade in Sierra Leone Open
This ICTD Research in Brief is a two-page summary of ICTD Working Paper 74 by Vanessa van den Boogaard, Wilson Prichard and Samuel Jibao. This series is aimed at policy makers, tax administrators, fellow researchers and anyone else who is …
View article: Tax Reform for Low Income Countries: Five Ideas for Simplifying Tax Systems to Fit Local Realities
Tax Reform for Low Income Countries: Five Ideas for Simplifying Tax Systems to Fit Local Realities Open
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 …
View article: What Might an Agenda for Equitable Taxation Look Like
What Might an Agenda for Equitable Taxation Look Like Open
The past decade has witnessed an unprecedented surge in international attention to the challenge of expanding tax collection in developing countries; this accelerated in 2017. This has, however, come with a risk that too little attention w…
View article: Taxation, non-tax revenue and democracy: New evidence using new cross-country data
Taxation, non-tax revenue and democracy: New evidence using new cross-country data Open
A large body of econometric research has generated growing support for the existence of a political resource curse, but has nonetheless continued to be regularly punctuated by research contesting those conclusions. This continuing disagree…