“This is a tax world“, the weekly podcast to understand the complex world of taxation, the podcast for citizens who want to better understand how taxation structures our lives, but also what taxation looks like around the globe. For this episode we travel south of the Sahara, in Africa,  to discover a very special type of tax administration, the Semi-Autonomous Revenue Authorities (SARAs), welcoming our expert on tax issues in developing countries: Ryad Selmani ! This interview was prepared with the kind participation of Prof. Jean-François Brun from the French CERDI (Center for Studies and Research on International Development).

“Think of taxation as a whole in which all the bricks are important. It is not by changing one brick that you change the façade of the building”

(Prof. Jean-François Brun)

Sources:

• Dom, Roel (2017) : Semi-autonomous revenue authorities in Sub-Saharan Africa: Silver bullet or white elephant, CREDIT Research Paper, No. 17/01, The University of Nottingham, Centre for Research in Economic Development and International Trade (CREDIT), Nottingham

• Fjeldstad, O. H., & Moore, M. (2009). Revenue authorities and public authority in sub-Saharan  Africa. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 47(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022278x08003637

• Gbato, A., Lemou, F., & Brun, J. F. (2021). Effectiveness of SARA Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa. SSRN Electronic Journal. Published. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3771591

• Mann, A. J. (2004): Are semi-autonomous revenue authorities the answer to tax administration problems in developing countries? A practical guide, Washington, DC: United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

• Moore, M. (2020). What is Wrong with African Tax Administration? (Working Paper 111). International Centre for Tax and Development.https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/20.500.12413/15661/ICTD_WP111.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

• OECD/AUC/ATAF (2020), Revenue Statistics in Africa 2020: 1990-2018, OECD Publishing, Paris,https://doi.org/10.1787/14e1edb1-en-fr.

• Stella, P. (1992). Tax Farming: A Radical Solution for Developing Country Tax Problems? IMF  Working Papers, 92(70), 1. https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451960327.001

• S. Coulibaly, B., & Gandhi, D. (2018). Mobilization of tax revenues in Africa State of play and policy options – Policy Brief. Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/mobilization-of-tax-revenues_20181017.pdf

• United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). (2018). Fiscal Policy for Financing  Sustainable Development in Africa. https://www.uneca.org/sites/default/files/chapterimages/era2019_eng_Chapter_2.pdf

• Therkildsen, O. (2004). Autonomous Tax Administration in Sub-Saharan Africa: the Case of the Uganda Revenue Authority. Forum for Development Studies, 31(1), 59–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/08039410.2004.9666264

• von Haldenwang, C., von Schiller, A., Garcia, M. M., & Gemperle, S. (2011). Tax Collection inDeveloping Countries – New Evidence on Semi-Autonomous Revenue Agencies (SARAs). SSRN Electronic Journal, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1961616