Short Abstract

This panel examines the forms and conditions of consent to taxation in Africa, moving beyond the lens of colonial fiscal coercion. It explores the factors underlying acceptance, legitimacy, and tax justice across different contexts, actors, and time periods.

Long Abstract

The field of taxation in Africa has often been analyzed through the lenses of the distinction between the formal and informal sectors, governance and public policy, or state-building - and in particular, the challenges states face in collecting taxes. In this context, a primary focus has been on the coercion and violence inflicted on citizens since the colonial era to compel them to fulfill tax obligations often perceived as illegitimate or, at the very least, meaningless to them.

Building on this body of literature, which is linked to studies on resistance to taxation, this panel proposes to analyze, by way of contrast, the issue of consent to taxes and taxation. Support for tax levies, understood in a broad sense (taxes, fees, contributions, etc.), allows us to examine various conceptions of belonging to a collective, as well as the expectations and obligations associated with it, particularly regarding goods, services, and political representation. What factors explain acceptance of taxation when it exists, and in what forms is it perceived as tolerable, fair, or justified by the population? Does acceptance vary depending on the type of taxation, the methods of collection, and the actors who carry it out? Does it strengthen or erode at specific moments in history?

Submissions are welcome from all disciplines, geographic regions, and historical periods. They may draw on a variety of approaches and sources to examine the forms, conditions, and developments of taxes and taxation in different historical and social contexts.

Propose paper