Taxation for Sustainable Development

In collaboration with the Centre for Studies and Research on International Development (CERDI, UMR UCA, CNRS and IRD), FERDI works to inform public policy and strengthen capacities in the field of taxation for development. 

 ↪ Support decision-making by tax and customs administrations in developing countries

 ↪ Produce and disseminate analyses and operational tools to support tax policies

 ↪ Contribute to international platforms and initiatives on taxation and development finance

 ↪ Strengthen the capacities of public actors through training, policy dialogue and knowledge sharing 

Domestic public resource mobilisation

Scientific support to the French Platform for Domestic Public Resource Mobilisation (DRM) and contribution to its strategic discussions within the framework of the French Strategic Investment Plan for Development (PISD). Also contributes to its outreach through the organisation of webinars and meetings bringing together stakeholders from the Global North and South.

Fiscal potential, revenue gaps and green taxation

In partnership with the WAEMU Commission, estimation of fiscal potential and analysis of revenue gaps. This work contributes to strengthening budget transparency, improving fiscal management and informing discussions on environmental taxation within the regional community.

Mining taxation and revenue sharing

Contribution to capacity building for administrations on the challenges of extractive revenue sharing. Development of a mining revenue simulation tool for the African gold sector (https://fiscalite-miniere.ferdi.fr/) and delivery of specialised training through IHEDD-Ferdi.

Telecommunications taxation

Analysis of the effective tax burden on mobile network operators in the context of rapid digital expansion in Africa. This work also explores the conditions for a tax system that balances revenue mobilisation, economic inclusion and market development.

Subsidies, regulated prices and tax expenditures

Analysis of explicit and implicit subsidies related to goods with regulated or administered prices, particularly petroleum products. This work sheds light on trade-offs between consumer protection, fiscal sustainability and the climate transition.

Tax effort

The measurement of tax effort is a key focus of the programme. This indicator assesses revenue collection relative to countries’ actual economic capacity, going beyond the standard tax-to-GDP ratio.

International taxation

Contribution to debates on international taxation, notably on carbon pricing and the potential effects of a maritime fuel tax on developing countries.

↪ Work with the DRM platform
Contribution to the launch of PISD II (17 June 2025), organisation of an international webinar (28 April 2025) on price regulation and subsidies in low-income countries, and a side event at the FfD4 conference in Seville (2 July 2025) dedicated to measuring tax gaps.

↪ PAGFAL project in Algeria
Contribution (October 2025 – January 2026, Expertise France) to the establishment of a portal for declaring taxes and duties applicable to upstream hydrocarbon activities.

↪ Fiscal potential and WAEMU
Publication of a second regional report incorporating an analysis of tax expenditures and harmonised taxes, as part of the partnership with the WAEMU Commission. The results were presented internationally (Seville, CREDAF annual conference in Kinshasa, West Africa 2040 Outlook workshop) and integrated into the Banque de France’s 2024 Monetary Cooperation Report.

↪ Mining taxation
Update of the mining revenue database and continued dissemination of the simulation tool for the African gold sector (https://fiscalite-miniere.ferdi.fr/). Organisation of five specialised training sessions via IHEDD-Ferdi.

↪ Telecommunications taxation
Further development of empirical analyses of the effective tax burden on mobile operators, creation of country profiles and launch of the telecom.ferdi.fr website. Results were presented at the Global Development Network annual conference and complemented by exploratory work on sector taxation.

↪ Fuel pricing and taxation
Development of an international database on fuel price structures and tax levies, and analysis of the impact of carbon pricing policies. This work improves the documentation of explicit and implicit subsidies and supports policy design adapted to African countries’ economic and fiscal contexts.

↪ Tax effort
Update of the tax effort methodology and launch of a dedicated platform for replication and customised estimation of indicators. Collaboration prospects have been initiated with the International Monetary Fund and UNU-WIDER.

↪ International taxation
Continued dissemination of research on international carbon taxation, particularly on the potential effects of a tax on maritime fuel.