ATI–ICTD collaboration to advance evidence-based approaches to tax and informality
A three-part webinar series will bring research and country experience into the debate on fairer, more effective approaches to informal economies.
The Addis Tax Initiative and the International Centre for Tax and Development are joining forces to advance evidence-based approaches to tax and informality. The collaboration will connect research with tax practitioners and experts, focusing on fair and effective domestic revenue mobilisation.
The partnership starts with a three-part webinar series in the final quarter of 2026. Meeting online every month, the sessions will explore how governments can broaden the tax base without measures that deliver limited revenue or raise concerns about fairness. Discussions will cover assumptions about the informal economy, the limits of simplified tax regimes and mass registration campaigns, and ways to reach higher-income operators outside the tax net. A third session may examine alternative approaches to broadening the tax base, including digital service taxation.
From evidence to practical reform
The series draws on Informality and Tax research by ICTD and its Community of Practice on Tax and Informality, with more than 300 policymakers, researchers and civil society representatives. It also supports the Addis Tax Initiative’s commitment to fair, efficient and transparent revenue systems under Action 1 of the Seville Declaration on Domestic Resource Mobilisation.
The collaboration addresses a persistent gap: research on taxing informal economies does not always translate into administrative practice. The webinars will bring together tax administrations, researchers, civil society, and development partners to exchange evidence, country experiences, and practical perspectives, and to identify questions and tools for a practical capacity-building component planned for 2027. After the webinars, the next phase would seek to support revenue authorities in assessing current practices, using data and, considering policy options.
The ATI-ICTD initiative aims to move the discussion beyond registration towards approaches that are cost-effective, equitable, and grounded in the realities of informal economies.
