Research and Advisory Work on Taxation and Public Finance Management in Tanzania 1993-2023

CMI has been engaged in research and policy advice on taxation and public finance management in Tanzania for more than 30 years. The overarching objective of CMI’s research in this area is to generate knowledge on how the national and sub-national 
governments can raise and manage domestic financial resources in ways that enhance their effectiveness and political legitimacy.

Our work has addressed a wide range of issues, including tax policy and administrative reforms; tax compliance; tax evasion and fiscal corruption; local government taxation and fiscal decentralization; natural resource taxation; and pre-colonial and colonial legacies of taxation. 

Our research is primarily based on methods from economics and political science, but is also based on law, history, social anthropology, and psychology. We apply both qualitative and quantitative methods. Our data sources include administrative data from the Tanzania Revenue Authority, Zanzibar Revenue Authority and Local Government Authorities, surveys of individuals and businesses, lab and field experiments, historical data, and interviews with national and 
international stakeholders. 

Most of our projects are designed and carried out in collaboration with local researchers and institutions in Tanzania. This has contributed to a good understanding of the context in which research is carried out, strengthened the relevance of the research to inform tax policy, and contributed to developing local research capacity.
 
This note provides an overview of projects and publications covering three decades of tax research in Tanzania.