Political Geography: Africa / Topic: Revenue

Author:: Kwabena Adu-Ababio, Evaristo Mwale, and Rodrigo Oliveira
Publication Date:: 12-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: Low-income countries face the combined challenges of climate shocks and limited domestic revenue mobilization, yet these issues are rarely studied together. This paper provides new evidence on the impact of climate shocks on firm performance and tax revenue in a low-income country context, using firm-level data from Zambia. We find that extreme weather events, such as excessive rainfall and high temperatures, significantly reduce firms’ sales, input purchases, and tax collection, particularly in sectors such as manufacturing, retail, accommodation, and construction. Firms respond by reducing employment and wages, reflecting a decline in productivity. Our findings highlight the need to consider the combined effects of climate shocks on both formal sector productivity and government revenue in developing countries, where taxation on services and goods (e.g. VAT) represents a larger share of government budgets.
Topic:: Climate Change, Revenue, Firms, and Value-Added Tax (VAT)
Political Geography:: Africa and Zambia

Author:: Joshua Craze
Publication Date:: 10-2023
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Small Arms Survey
Abstract:: Though elections are now postulated for next year, South Sudan remains in crisis. Conflict continues to scar the country, and climatic shocks exacerbate already acute resource scarcity, leaving approximately 76 per cent of South Sudan’s population surviving on humanitarian assistance. The regime of South Sudanese President Salva Kiir survives by diverting revenues in three key areas—oil production, humanitarianism, and loans from international financial institutions—to the benefit of an elite class in Juba, but at the cost of the immiseration of the people of South Sudan. Pay Day Loans and Backroom Empires: South Sudan’s Political Economy since 2018—a Briefing Paper from the Small Arms Survey’s Human Security Baseline Assessment for Sudan and South Sudan (HSBA) project—analyses this predatory political economy in South Sudan, and charts a shift from the use of wages to reward loyal appointees to a more obscure system based on the dispensations of favours.
Topic:: Security, Corruption, Political Economy, Elections, Conflict, and Revenue
Political Geography:: Africa, Sudan, and South Sudan

Author:: African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Abstract:: The issue of tobacco consumption in Mauritania is of significant public health concern. The current taxation system is ineffective in reducing consumption and maximizing state revenue. The study “Optimal Tobacco Taxation in Mauritania” found that the system has led to significant revenue loss due to under-declared customs values and the application of VAT at the customs level rather than at the point of sale. The introduction of an excise tax based on the quantity of tobacco products imported is recommended. This would help to increase the price of cigarettes, thereby reducing consumption, and would also generate significant revenue for the state.
Topic:: Tax Systems, Tobacco, Public Health, and Revenue
Political Geography:: Africa and Mauritania

Author:: African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Abstract:: Despite the implementation of anti-tobacco laws and regulations, including ratification of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, smoking prevalence in Togo remains high. A study shows that the mixed taxation system leads to an increase in the final consumption price of the premium and economy segments of tobacco, an increase in excise tax revenue and a decrease in the quantity of cigarettes consumed and industry revenue, compared with the current "ad valorem" tax. Based on these results, the application of a mixed excise tax system would provide better results in terms of tobacco control.
Topic:: Reform, Tax Systems, Tobacco, Public Health, and Revenue
Political Geography:: Africa and Togo

Author:: Ronald Makanga Kakumba and Matthias Krönke
Publication Date:: 10-2023
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Afrobarometer
Abstract:: Governments rely on tax revenue to finance investments in human capital, infrastructure, and public services for their citizens. The quality of government services and a country’s development can be jeopardized if taxes are not collected, are squandered, or are misappropriated by the government. According to statistics from the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), about 2.6 million Ugandans were registered taxpayers as of September 2022, but only about 1 million Ugandans are actively paying taxes (Kayiwa, 2022; Oketch, 2021). Analysts attribute the low tax-revenue collections to inadequate administrative capacity, weak checks and balances, and a lack of social norms for tax compliance, among other factors (Lakuma & Lwanga, 2017). Even so, during the 2021/2022 financial year, the URA collected 21.7 trillion Ugandan shillings (UGX) (USD 5.9 billion), its highest-ever revenue collection, reflecting a 12% increase over the previous year. This amount fell just short of the target of UGX 22.4 trillion (Wanyenze, 2022). However, there is little cause to celebrate, for several reasons.
Topic:: Corruption, Public Opinion, Tax Systems, and Revenue
Political Geography:: Uganda and Africa

Author:: Vanessa Ushie, Oluwatosin Adeniyi, and Sabastine Akongwale
Publication Date:: 03-2012
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA)
Abstract:: The paper presents an elaborate econometric analysis of a number of key macroeconomic indicators to oil revenue and examines the results of oil revenue fluctuations.
Topic:: Oil, Natural Resources, Institutions, Macroeconomics, and Revenue
Political Geography:: Africa and Nigeria

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