Now more than ever, governments are striving to mobilise greater tax revenue domestically. To do so, they are increasingly reaching out to inform and engage today's - and future - taxpayers. They aim to foster an overall "culture of compliance" based on rights and responsibilities, in which citizens see paying taxes as an integral aspect of their relationship with their government. Taxpayer education is the bridge linking tax administration and citizens and a key tool to transform tax culture. Covering innovative strategies in 28 countries, this publication offers ideas and inspiration for taxpayer education, literacy and outreach. It helps revenue authorities in developing countries to strengthen the tax morale and tax compliance of their citizens.

Widespread voluntary tax compliance plays a significant role in countries’ efforts to raise the revenues necessary to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. As part of this process, governments are increasingly reaching out to taxpayers – current and future – to teach, communicate and assist them in order to foster a “culture of compliance” based on rights and responsibilities, in which citizens see paying taxes as an integral aspect of their relationship with their government.

Widespread voluntary tax compliance plays a significant role in countries' efforts to raise the revenues necessary to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. As part of this process, governments are increasingly reaching out to taxpayers - current and future - to teach, communicate and assist them in order to foster a "culture of compliance" based on rights and responsibilities, in which citizens see paying taxes as an integral aspect of their relationship with their government. The emphasis placed by governments on taxpayer education and assistance helps bridge the gap between tax administrations and citizens, playing a key role - when properly implemented - in transforming tax culture. Building on previous OECD analysis, this report aims to help tax revenue authorities in designing and implementing taxpayer education initiatives. It examines 140 initiatives under implementation in 59 developed and developing countries, offering a classification of different approaches to taxpayer education, and identifying common challenges and solutions. More generally, this report contributes to the OECD's broader work on tax morale and seeks to encourage further research, debates and initiatives, particularly in developing countries, to better understand and ultimately strengthen tax morale and the tax compliance of taxpayers.

This sourcebook captures innovative strategies in 28 countries in order to provide ideas and inspiration to revenue authorities in developing countries with regards to taxpayer education, literacy and outreach to strengthen the tax morale and tax compliance of their citizens.

There is a widespread concern that, in some parts of the world, governments are unable to exercise effective authority. When governments fail, more sinister forces thrive: warlords, arms smugglers, narcotics enterprises, kidnap gangs, terrorist networks, armed militias. Why do governments fail? This book explores an old idea that has returned to prominence: that authority, effectiveness, accountability and responsiveness is closely related to the ways in which governments are financed. It matters that governments tax their citizens rather than live from oil revenues and foreign aid, and it matters how they tax them. Taxation stimulates demands for representation, and an effective revenue authority is the central pillar of state capacity. Using case studies from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America, this book presents and evaluates these arguments, updates theories derived from European history in the light of conditions in contemporary poorer countries, and draws conclusions for policy-makers.

This short introduction to issues of tax justice explains the meaning and causes of tax injustice and offers options for a better future. Providing insight into the specific failures of Africa s tax systemand the associated problems of capital flight, tax evasion, tax avoidance, and tax competitionthis book explores the role of governments, parliaments, and taxpayers, and asks how stakeholders can help achieve tax justice. Arguing that tax revenues are essential for establishing independent states of free citizens, it demonstrates how the tax consensus promoted by multilateral agencies, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, has influenced tax policy in Africa and led to a reduction in government revenues in many countries. "

Unlocking what drives tax morale – the intrinsic willingness to pay tax – can greatly assist governments in the design of tax policies and their administration, particularly in developing countries where compliance rates are low. This report builds on previous OECD research to identify some of the key socio-economic and institutional drivers of tax morale across developing countries, and seeks to test for evidence of the social contract by examining the impact of public services on tax morale. It also uses new data on tax certainty as an entry point to explore tax morale in businesses, where existing research is very limited. Finally, the report identifies a range of factors related to the tax system that may affect business decision making, how they vary across regions, and suggests some areas for future research. Overall, the report provides a range of suggestions for further work, and how tax morale considerations can be integrated into holistic tax compliance strategies.