Taxing aid, the end of a paradox?

Active • June 01, 2019

The article referenced in the United States' Guidelines on the Tax Treatment of Government-to-Government Aid Projects highlights that the expansion of the tax base, which is associated with a more equitable distribution of the tax burden, is hindered by the proliferation of exemption schemes, partly driven by the exemption of official development assistance.  The authors, Cladeira E., Geourjon A-M., Rota-Graziosi G., presented their study on February 5, 2020, during the opening of the Official Development Tax Exemption workshop organized by the OECD in Paris. They also presented the study at the OECD Tax and Development Days on February 17, 2022.

As a follow-up to this work, FERDI published a report in December 2022 on aid taxation in Benin, Cameroon and Kenya for the Platform for Collaboration on Tax. This report provides an in-depth look at, and comparison of, different practices in the field of taxing or exempting aid projects. It is part of FERDI's field of excellence in the area of taxation, that of tax expenditures.