Corruption Perception and Attitude Towards Taxation in Africa

This paper analyses the effect of the quality of governance (proxied by perceived corruption) on attitudes towards paying taxes, using the Afrobarometer surveys from thirty-six African countries over the period 2011–2015. Specifically, we find that perceived corruption in the president’s office has a significant and negative effect on reported attitude towards taxation, even after controlling for individuals’ experiences with bribe payments. Such a result indicates that improving perception about the quality of governance at the highest level of authority in a sovereign country can help promote more positive attitudes towards taxation, thereby resulting in higher tax revenues.