Working Paper
Taxpayer response to greater progressivity
We evaluate a major personal income tax reform in Uganda that came into effect in 2012–13, contributing to the scarce literature on the effects of personal income tax reform on employees’ income in a low-income country in Africa. The reform increased...
Working Paper
Does project-level aid for water and sanitation improve child health outcomes?
Empirical studies on the effectiveness of aid to the water, sanitation, and hygiene sector (WASH aid) have focused primarily on access to these services as the benchmark for evaluating the effectiveness of aid in this sector. Given the importance of...
Blog
Want to catch up on UNU-WIDER research? Here are 10 of the most interesting papers published over the last year
In this blog, the managing editor of the WIDERAngle shares his personal view on some of the most important —and potentially overlooked— work recently...
Working Paper
The making (and unmaking) of Uganda’s ethnic-based decentralization programme
Uganda’s post-colony continues to be haunted by the colonial logic of ethnicity. This logic has mapped the country’s post-colonial political landscape as a terrain on which spirals of ethnic-based conflicts and violence are the norm. Because colonial...
Working Paper
Pre-colonial centralization and tax compliance norms in contemporary Uganda
The paper examines the legacy of pre-colonial centralization on tax compliance norms of citizens in contemporary Uganda. By combining geo-referenced anthropological data on pre-colonial ethnic homelands with survey data from several rounds of the...
Technical Note
The Uganda Revenue Authority firm panel
This technical note describes the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) firm panel, which is constructed from administrative corporate income tax (CIT) returns and firm registration data for the financial years 2013/14–2019/20. The panel dataset contains...
Technical Note
The Uganda Revenue Authority trade data
This Technical Note describes Ugandan trade data covering import and export declarations for ten calendar years from January 2013 to December 2022, constructed from transactional-level Ugandan administrative data. The trade data series contains...
Working Paper
The dynamics of formal employment during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda
This paper studies the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on formal sector employment in Uganda. Utilizing employee-level administrative tax data from the Uganda Revenue Authority, we describe the dynamics of employment as the pandemic evolved, seeking...
Working Paper
Compliance rates with local and national business taxes
This paper investigates business tax compliance in a multilevel tax structure with limited coordination. We study the case of Kampala, where firms are taxed at national and local levels—by the Uganda Revenue Authority and the Kampala Capital City...
Presentation
Maria Jouste at the North East Universities Development Consortium
Maria Jouste, UNU-WIDER Research Associate, will present a research paper at the North East Universities Development Consortium on 6 November 2020. The virtual conference, hosted by Dartmouth College, will be held 6-7 November (EST). The topic of...
6 November 2020
Past event
Presentation
Maria Jouste on Tax for Development
Maria Jouste, UNU-WIDER Research Associate, will give a presentation at the Tax for Development webinar series on 17 November 2020 (CET). The webinar series is hosted by Chr. Michelsen Institute. The topic of Jouste's presentation will be 'Do tax...
17 November 2020
Past event
Seminar
Markus Jäntti on income distribution in Uganda – a tax register-based assessment
Markus Jäntti will present at the WIDER Seminar Series on 27 February Abstract - Income distribution in Uganda – a tax register-based assessment Uganda has extensive register data on taxable income and taxes paid going back a decade or so. By...
27 February 2020
UNU-WIDER,
Katajanokanlaituri 6 B,
Helsinki,
Finland
Past event
Working Paper
The effects of personal income tax reform on employees’ taxable income in Uganda
We evaluate a major personal income tax reform in Uganda that came into effect in 2012–13. The reform increased the tax-free lower threshold, increased tax rates for higher incomes, and introduced an additional highest tax band. Using the universe of...
Working Paper
An analysis of the distributional impact of excise duty in Uganda using a tax-benefit microsimulation model
The distributional analysis of consumption taxes is useful for establishing the welfare impact of tax policy. This paper uses the UGAMOD microsimulation model to establish the tax incidence and welfare impact of excise duty in Uganda. The results...
Working Paper
Mobile technologies and firm formalization
We investigate how the arrival and expansion of mobile network access in Uganda influences firm tax behaviour. Access to mobile technologies could broaden government revenues from corporate income tax through the extensive margin: by reducing the...
Technical Note
The Uganda Revenue Authority Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) data
This technical note describes the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) data covering financial years 2013/14 to 2021/22. PAYE is paid by an employer who withholds personal income tax on employees’ wages and other employment incomes...
In the media
Findings from recent research based on Ugandan administrative tax data gather visibility in the local media
Research insights and policy recommendations presented in an in-person workshop organised on 15 November 2023 in Kampala gathered visibility in several Ugandan news outlets.
Workshop
Author workshop on firms and taxation using micro data from Uganda
8 February 2023
–
9 February 2023
Online,
Uganda
Past event
Workshop
Second UGAMOD retreat
The fourth training event on UGAMOD, the tax-benefit microsimulation model for Uganda, is organized as a five-day research retreat, intended to empower participants to use UGAMOD to answer their own policy questions. The retreat is composed of two...
10 July 2023
–
14 July 2023
Uganda Revenue Authority,
Kampala,
Uganda
Past event
Policy seminar
Assessing Presumptive Tax Policy in Uganda
This online event will be organized to introduce the results of an assessment of presumptive tax policy in Uganda. The seminar will cover effect estimates of Uganda's recent presumptive tax reform and recommendations for amending the tax regime in...
26 August 2021
Online,
Kampala,
Uganda
Past event
Project workshop
Work-in-progress meeting on tax research collaboration in Uganda
As part of the Building up efficient and fair tax systems – lessons based on administrative tax data project, a work-in progress meeting was held online between UNU-WIDER and Uganda Revenue Authority (URA). The topics discussed in this meeting...
7 December 2021
–
8 December 2021
Online,
Kampala,
Uganda
Past event
Presentation
Jukka Pirttilä on personal income tax reform in Uganda
Jukka Pirttilä, UNU-WIDER Non-Resident Senior Research Fellow, gives a presentation at the Tax for Development webinar series on 5 April 2022 (CET). The webinar series is hosted by Chr. Michelsen Institute. The topic of Pirttilä's presentation is...
5 April 2022
Online,
Oslo,
Norway
Past event
Seminar
Launch of the Uganda Revenue Authority secure research lab
19 May 2022
Protea Hotel by Marriott,
Kampala,
Uganda
Past event
Policy seminar
Findings from recent research based on Ugandan administrative tax data
15 November 2023
Hotel Protea by Marriott,
Elgon Terrace,
Kampala,
Uganda
Past event
About
Building up efficient and fair tax systems – lessons from Uganda
This project analyses administrative tax data in Uganda to provide knowledge for better policy-making with respect to mobilizing public revenue for inclusive economic development. The project conducts new, policy-relevant research based on the...