Autonomous Tax Administration in Sub-Saharan Africa: the Case of the Uganda Revenue Authority

Therkildsen, Ole

doi:10.1080/08039410.2004.9666264

Cited by 40 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Second, perceptions of widespread corruption and tax evasion, combined with high taxpayer compliance costs, led to calls for wholesale reform of the tax administration (Barbone, Das-Gupta, Wulf and Hansson 1999;Ghura 1998). Third, in some aid-dependent African countries the shift to a semi-autonomous revenue authority model was also attractive to foreign donors because it created opportunities for more widespread reforms of the tax administration (Therkildsen 2004).…”

Section: Introduction *mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Corruption in Tax Administration: Lessons from Institutional Reforms in Uganda

Fjeldstad¹

2006

International Handbook on the Economics of Corruption

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Section: Introduction *mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies from a number of countries in Latin America (Taliercio 2002(Taliercio , 2004Mann 2004) and Africa (Chand and Moene 1999;Fjeldstad 2003;Hadler 2000;Terpker 1999;Therkildsen 2004) show that the reforms appeared to be successful in the initial years. But the initial successes were in many cases not sustained.…”

Section: Introduction *mentioning

confidence: 99%

Corruption in Tax Administration: Lessons from Institutional Reforms in Uganda

Fjeldstad¹

2006

International Handbook on the Economics of Corruption

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“…This was most strikingly evident in politically motivated appointments and transfers that contributed to the resurfacing of corruption and organisational inefficiency (Therkildsen 2004: 2).…”

Section: Politics Of Reform Implementationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Its semi-autonomous status meant that it was exempt from civil service rules concerning recruitment, retention, pay and conditions, and that operations could be informed by business principles. There was also an expectation that increased autonomy would reduce the scope for political interference (Therkildsen 2004). …”

Section: Nature Of the Reformmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite these provisions, the board remains actively involved in day-to-day operational issues, including decisions relating to the appointment of senior staff. The Ministry of Finance exercises a dominant role in board affairs and supervises the commissioner general, at times making policy decisions concerning tax administration with little consultation (Fjeldstad et al 2003;Therkildsen 2004). The CG now reports to the president through a commissioner rather than the Minister of Finance, even though she is more senior in civil service status.…”

Section: Nature Of the Reformmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Political Economy of Governance Reforms in Uganda

Robinson¹

2007

Commonwealth & Comparative Politics

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About IDSThe Institute of Development Studies is one of the world's leading organisations for research, teaching and communications on international development. Founded in 1966, the Institute enjoys an international reputation based on the quality of its work and the rigour with which it applies academic skills to real world challenges. Its purpose is to understand and explain the world, and to try to change it -to influence as well as to inform.IDS hosts five dynamic research programmes, five popular postgraduate courses, and a family of worldclass web-based knowledge services. These three spheres are integrated in a unique combination -as a development knowledge hub, IDS is connected into and is a convenor of networks throughout the world.The Institute is home to approximately 80 researchers, 50 knowledge services staff, 50 support staff and about 150 students at any one time. But the IDS community extends far beyond, encompassing an extensive network of partners, former staff and students across the development community worldwide. IDS DISCUSSION PAPER 386The Political Economy of Governance Reforms in Uganda This publication is copyright, but may be reproduced by any method without fee for teaching or non-profit purposes, but not for resale. Formal permission is required for all such uses, but normally will be granted immediately. For copying in any other circumstances, or for re-use in other publications, or for translation or adaptation, prior written permission must be obtained from the publisher, and a fee may be payable. AbstractThis paper presents three cases of successful governance reforms in Uganda, highlighting the political and institutional factors that explain the different trajectories of implementation, as well as features they share in common. Despite variations in content and focus, the governance reforms examined here were designed to promote structural changes in state institutions and change the incentives that shape the behaviour of state actors.The three cases of governance reform -civil service reform, the creation of a semiautonomous revenue authority and anti-corruption agencies -share a number of common features. First, they all followed a similar trajectory in their implementation, achieving a degree of initial success that was then gradually undermined. Second, the institutional features that appear to account for that initial success -strong political support to technocratic or bureaucratic elites with some degree of insulation from political and societal interestsalso help explain why such reforms are susceptible to a process of unravelling. Third, the main explanation for the loss of reform momentum (or even reversal of gains made) lies in the imperative of preserving the institutional foundations of neo-patrimonial politics.All three governance reforms considered here achieved a degree of initial success: civil service reform succeeded in downsizing and rationalising the bureaucracy; the revenue authority achieved increased tax revenues; and anti-corruption efforts led to th...

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The Punjab Revenue Authority: Meeting the challenges of a new institution

Raudla

Bashir

Douglas

2019

Public Admin & Development

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Summary New institutions generally face many challenges that can inhibit their ability to succeed. The institutionalist literature can serve as a guide, informing important actors of the challenges they are likely to face when founding a new institution. We examine the Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) in Pakistan to assess the extent to which the challenges posited by the various streams of institutionalism surfaced as real problems that leaders in Punjab Province had to deal with when establishing the PRA. We found that rational choice institutionalism, historical institutionalism, and sociological institutionalism all identified problems that the PRA had to address. We conclude that the PRA's early successes are a function of its ability to navigate these challenges effectively.

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Autonomous Tax Administration in Sub-Saharan Africa: the Case of the Uganda Revenue Authority

Cited by 40 publications

References 24 publications

Corruption in Tax Administration: Lessons from Institutional Reforms in Uganda

Corruption in Tax Administration: Lessons from Institutional Reforms in Uganda

The Political Economy of Governance Reforms in Uganda

The Punjab Revenue Authority: Meeting the challenges of a new institution

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