TaxDev researchers present at the 9th International Domestic Resource Mobilisation Workshop

As part of the 9^th International Domestic Resource Mobilisation Workshop, TaxDev researchers, Hazel Granger, Kyle McNabb, and Harshil Parekh, along with Solomon Rukundo from the Uganda Revenue Authority, discussed the practical challenges and lessons learnt from TaxDev’s experience supporting tax expenditure reporting in Rwanda and Uganda.

The International Domestic Resource Mobilisation Workshop Series is a collaboration between the German Development Institute (DIE/GDI), the Addis Tax Initiative (ATI), and the Council on Economic Policies (CEP). The workshops brought together policymakers, researchers, and representatives from international organisations to discuss ongoing research, policy initiatives, and implications in specific areas of taxation.

The 2021 workshop explored the relevance of tax expenditures for domestic resource mobilisation, looking at the ATI members’ experiences in improving transparency, reporting and promoting reforms to rationalise tax expenditures. The workshop also showcased the data stored on the recently launched Global Tax Expenditures Database (GTED). The CEP and DIE developed the GTED to be the first database that provides timely and consistent information on tax expenditures on a global scale.

TaxDev’s presentation focused on three areas:

• The practical challenges in defining a benchmark tax system, from which deviations (tax expenditures) are calculated;
• Experiences in Rwanda and Uganda with respect to data requirements and modelling of tax expenditures;
• Guidance on how best to communicate tax expenditure estimates, especially in contexts where this has not been done before.

The presentation relates to a forthcoming TaxDev publication on this topic.