Presentation by Vanessa van den Boogaard at the 7th annual ICTD meeting in Kigali on February 5th 2019.

1. International Centre for Tax and Development
www.ictd.ac
International Centre for Tax and Development
www.ictd.ac
Wilson Prichard, Rachel Beach,
Vanessa van den Boogaard, and Fariya Mohiuddin
The micro-links between taxation and
accountability initiatives
5 February 2019

2. International Centre for Tax and Development
www.ictd.ac
Tax and accountability

3. International Centre for Tax and Development
www.ictd.ac
Tax, responsiveness, and accountability
 Responsiveness:
 the extent to which
governments deliver the
choices desired by taxpayers
 Accountability:
 the extent to which
governments are answerable
to taxpayers and face
sanctions for poor
performance

4. International Centre for Tax and Development
www.ictd.ac
Research strategy
What strategies can be adopted
to strengthen the links between
taxation, responsiveness, and
accountability?

5. International Centre for Tax and Development
www.ictd.ac
Research strategy
What strategies can be adopted
to strengthen the links between
taxation, responsiveness, and
accountability?
1. The role of changes to tax
policy
1. The efficacy of efforts to
enhance transparency
1. The efficacy of attempts to
spur popular engagement

6. International Centre for Tax and Development
www.ictd.ac
Research strategy: Case studies
 Sierra Leone
 East: Kailahun / Kono
 North: Koinadugu/ Bombali
 South: Moyamba/ Bo
 West: Western Area Rural/ Western
Area Urban
 Ghana
 Western: Sekondi/ Takoradi/ Tarkwa
Nsuaem
 Northern: Savelugu-Nanton/
Sagnerigu
 Greater Accra: La-Nkawntang
Madina/ Ledzokuku-Krowor

7. International Centre for Tax and Development
www.ictd.ac
Research strategy: Data
 Taxpayer surveys
 Focus group discussions
 In-depth interviews

8. International Centre for Tax and Development
www.ictd.ac
I. Policy reform

9. International Centre for Tax and Development
www.ictd.ac
Visibility and political salience
Visibility of tax
 Do taxpayers know that they
are paying the tax?

10. International Centre for Tax and Development
www.ictd.ac
Visibility and political salience
Visibility of tax
 Do taxpayers know that they
are paying the tax?
Political salience of tax
 Do taxpayers know that they
are paying the tax?
 Do taxpayers recognize the
tax as a politically important
issue?
 Do taxpayers have the
potential to mobilize in
response to the tax?

11. International Centre for Tax and Development
www.ictd.ac
What affects the visibility and political salience
of a tax?
 Type of tax
 Nature and equity of
administration
 Links to citizenship/ economic/
political rights
 Nature of political discourse
 Role of intermediaries in drawing
attention to tax debates

12. International Centre for Tax and Development
www.ictd.ac
II. Enhancing transparency

13. International Centre for Tax and Development
www.ictd.ac
Tax transparency
0% 50% 100%
More information about tax rules/
obligations
A fairer distribution of the tax burden
More opportunities for participation
in decision making
Less corruption by tax collectors
Less corruption by politicians
More information about how
revenues are spent
Improved public goods and services
What, if anything, would make
you more willing to pay taxes to
the central government?
Ghana
0% 50% 100%
Central government
Local government
Ward development
council
How easy is it to find out how
groups spend public/community
funds?
Sierra Leone
Easy
Neither easy
nor difficult
Difficult

14. International Centre for Tax and Development
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Tax transparency in practice

15. International Centre for Tax and Development
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Moving towards meaningful transparency

16. International Centre for Tax and Development
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(1) What types of information are most useful?
 Timely
 Accessible
 Specific
 E.g. Rates of payment
 E.g. Payment due dates
 Linked to expenditures

17. International Centre for Tax and Development
www.ictd.ac
(2) How can information best reach citizens?
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Phone
SMS
Religious institution
Whatsapp groups
Posting information at the local…
Sensitization (presentation)
Social media
Community association
Sensitization (door-to-door)
State-run media
Community meeting
TV news
Radio
Most effective way for citizens to communicate with government
Most effective way for government to share information
Ghana
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Sierra Leone

18. International Centre for Tax and Development
www.ictd.ac
III. Strengthening engagement

19. International Centre for Tax and Development
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Taxpayer engagement
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
No one
Local government official
Town/ area/ zonal/ ward
committee member
Central government official
Paramount chief
Town, village, sub chief
Village headman/ woman
MP
Of your own initiative, who, if
anyone, have you spoken with?
Sierra Leone Ghana
Have you ever engaged with
the government on a tax-
related matter?
Sierra Leone
Yes, spoke on radio
Yes, contacted my
politician
Yes, worked with NGO/
CSO that engaged with
government
No, never protested or
engaged with
government on any
tax-ralted issue

20. International Centre for Tax and Development
www.ictd.ac
(1) What kinds of forums for engagement are
most effective?
Safe, secure, and sincere:
 Accessible
 Tailored
 Responsive
 Inclusive of credible
taxpayer allies
 Anonymous, where
appropriate

21. International Centre for Tax and Development
www.ictd.ac
(2) What roles can civil society play?
 Civil society as translator
 Making data accessible and meaningful
 Communicating information to local communities
 Civil society as enabler
 Supporting engagement in public forums
 Civil society as trainer
 Giving taxpayers/ community leaders skills to make sense of revenue
and spending issues

22. International Centre for Tax and Development
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Challenges and opportunities

23. International Centre for Tax and Development
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Challenges
 Funding constraints
 Political resistance
 Managing expectations

24. International Centre for Tax and Development
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Opportunities
Donors, civil society, and government
may play a role to ensure:
 Information is adapted to local
contexts and citizen priorities
 Information is accessible and
communicated through interactive
platforms with a broad popular
reach
 Forums for engagement are safe,
secure, and sincerely open
spaces for dialogue

25. International Centre for Tax and Development
www.ictd.ac
International Centre for Tax and Development
www.ictd.ac
Vanessa van den Boogaard
ICTD Researcher
v.vandenboogaard@utoronto.ca
@vvandenboogaard