IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/iaae21/315357.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Gender and Tax Incidence of Rural Land Use Fee and Agricultural Income Tax in Ethiopia

Author

Listed:
  • Koolwal, Gayatri
  • Komatsu, Hitomi
  • Ambel, Alemayehu
  • Yonis, Manex Bule

Abstract

The rural land use fee and agricultural income tax are major payments for rural landholders in Ethiopia. This paper examines the gender implications of these taxes using tax payment and individual land ownership data from the Ethiopian Socioeconomic Survey 2018/2019. It finds that the rural land use fee and agricultural income tax, which are assessed on the area of landholdings, are regressive. Female-headed- and female adult-only households bear a larger tax burden than male-headed and dual-adult households. Norms limiting women’s role in agriculture and gender agricultural productivity gaps are likely to result in lower consumption and accordingly, a higher tax burden for female-headed households than for male-headed households. Reducing the tax rates for smallholders can diminish the gender difference in tax burdens, but the tax continues to be regressive. This highlights the difficulty of area-based land taxes to be vertically equitable.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Koolwal, Gayatri & Komatsu, Hitomi & Ambel, Alemayehu & Yonis, Manex Bule, 2021. "Gender and Tax Incidence of Rural Land Use Fee and Agricultural Income Tax in Ethiopia," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315357, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:iaae21:315357
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.315357
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/315357/files/0-0_Paper_19575_handout_181_0.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.315357?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. World Bank, 2012. "Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia : Options for Strengthening Land Administration," World Bank Publications - Reports 2721, The World Bank Group.
    2. Athiphat Muthitacharoen & George R. Zodrow, 2012. "Revisiting the Excise Tax Effects of the Property Tax," Public Finance Review, , vol. 40(5), pages 555-583, September.
    3. Mr. John Norregaard, 2013. "Taxing Immovable Property Revenue Potential and Implementation Challenges," IMF Working Papers 2013/129, International Monetary Fund.
    4. Herbert A. Simon, 1943. "The Incidence of a Tax on Urban Real Property," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 57(3), pages 398-420.
    5. Richard M. Bird & Enid Slack, 2005. "Land and Property Taxation in 25 Countries: A Comparative Review," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 3(3), pages 34-42, November.
    6. Richard M. Bird & Enid Slack, 2005. "Land and Property Taxation in 25 Countries: A Comparative Review," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 3(03), pages 34-42, November.
    7. Skinner, Jonathan, 1991. "Prospects for Agricultural Land Taxation in Developing Countries," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 5(3), pages 493-511, September.
    8. World Bank, 2019. "Ethiopia Gender Diagnostic Report," World Bank Publications - Reports 31420, The World Bank Group.
    9. George R. Zodrow, 2019. "The Property Tax as a Capital Tax: A Room with Three Views," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: George R Zodrow (ed.), TAXATION IN THEORY AND PRACTICE Selected Essays of George R. Zodrow, chapter 15, pages 461-487, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    10. Ligomeka, Waziona, 2019. "Expensive to be a Female Trader: The Reality of Taxation of Flea Market Traders in Zimbabwe," Working Papers 14419, Institute of Development Studies, International Centre for Tax and Development.
    11. Khan, Mahmood Hasan, 2001. "Agricultural taxation in developing countries: a survey of issues and policy," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 24(3), pages 315-328, March.
    12. UN Women, 2015. "Progress of the World’s Women 2015-2016: Transforming Economies, Realizing Rights," Working Papers id:7688, eSocialSciences.
    13. M. Browning & P. A. Chiappori, 1998. "Efficient Intra-Household Allocations: A General Characterization and Empirical Tests," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 66(6), pages 1241-1278, November.
    14. Mintewab Bezabih & Stein Holden & Andrea Mannberg, 2016. "The Role of Land Certification in Reducing Gaps in Productivity between Male- and Female-Owned Farms in Rural Ethiopia," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(3), pages 360-376, March.
    15. Daniel Ayalew Ali & Stefan Dercon & Madhur Gautam, 2011. "Property rights in a very poor country: tenure insecurity and investment in Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 42(1), pages 75-86, January.
    16. Athiphat Muthitacharoen & George R. Zodrow, 2012. "Revisiting the Excise Tax Effects of the Property Tax: Working Paper 2012-05," Working Papers 42926, Congressional Budget Office.
    17. Ligomeka, Waziona, 2019. "Expensive to be a Female Trader: The Reality of Taxation of Flea Market Traders in Zimbabwe," Working Papers 14430, Institute of Development Studies, International Centre for Tax and Development.
    18. Zerfu Hailu, 2016. "Land Governance Assessment Framework Implementation in Ethiopia," World Bank Publications - Reports 28507, The World Bank Group.
    19. M. Fafchamps & A. R. Quisumbing, 2002. "Control and Ownership of Assets Within Rural Ethiopian Households," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(6), pages 47-82.
    20. Gabriela Inchauste & Nora Lustig, 2017. "The Distributional Impact of Taxes and Transfers," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 27980, December.
    21. Kumar, Neha & Quisumbing, Agnes R., 2015. "Policy Reform toward Gender Equality in Ethiopia: Little by Little the Egg Begins to Walk," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 406-423.
    22. Arturo Aguilar & Eliana Carranza & Markus Goldstein & Talip Kilic & Gbemisola Oseni, 2015. "Decomposition of gender differentials in agricultural productivity in Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 46(3), pages 311-334, May.
    23. Holden, Stein T. & Tilahun, Mesfin, 2020. "Farm size and gender distribution of land: Evidence from Ethiopian land registry data," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    24. Weigel, Jonathan & Bergeron, Augustin & Tourek, Gabriel, 2021. "The State Capacity Ceiling On Tax Rates: Evidence From Randomized Tax Abatements In The Drc," CEPR Discussion Papers 16116, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    25. Browning, Martin & Francois Bourguignon & Pierre-Andre Chiappori & Valerie Lechene, 1994. "Income and Outcomes: A Structural Model of Intrahousehold Allocation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(6), pages 1067-1096, December.
    26. Zodrow, George R., 2001. "The Property Tax as a Capital Tax: A Room with Three Views," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 54(n. 1), pages 139-56, March.
    27. Mieszkowski, Peter, 1972. "The property tax: An excise tax or a profits tax?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 73-96, April.
    28. Daniel Ayalew Ali & Klaus Deininger & Michael Wild, 2020. "Using satellite imagery to create tax maps and enhance local revenue collection," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(4), pages 415-429, January.
    29. Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, 2001. "The Impact of Budgets on the Poor: Tax and Benefit," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper0110, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    30. Hosaena H. Ghebru & Stein T. Holden, 2015. "Reverse-Share-Tenancy and Agricultural Efficiency: Farm-Level Evidence from Ethiopia," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 24(1), pages 148-171.
    31. Deininger, Klaus & Ali, Daniel Ayalew & Holden, Stein & Zevenbergen, Jaap, 2008. "Rural Land Certification in Ethiopia: Process, Initial Impact, and Implications for Other African Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 1786-1812, October.
    32. Akpan, Imaobong & Sempere, Kas, 2019. "Hidden Inequalities: Tax Challenges of Market Women in Enugu and Kaduna States, Nigeria," Working Papers 14546, Institute of Development Studies, International Centre for Tax and Development.
    33. Kalkuhl, Matthias & Fernandez Milan, Blanca & Schwerhoff, Gregor & Jakob, Michael & Hahnen, Maren & Creutzig, Felix, 2018. "Can land taxes foster sustainable development? An assessment of fiscal, distributional and implementation issues," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 338-352.
    34. Grace Anyaegbu, 2010. "Using the OECD equivalence scale in taxes and benefits analysis," Economic & Labour Market Review, Palgrave Macmillan;Office for National Statistics, vol. 4(1), pages 49-54, January.
    35. repec:ces:ifodic:v:3:y:2005:i:3:p:14567616 is not listed on IDEAS
    36. Anne Brockmeyer & Alejandro Estefan & Karina Ramírez Arras & Juan Carlos Suárez Serrato, 2021. "Taxing Property in Developing Countries: Theory and Evidence from Mexico," NBER Working Papers 28637, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    37. Katrina Kosec & Hosaena Ghebru & Brian Holtemeyer & Valerie Mueller & Emily Schmidt, 2018. "The Effect of Land Access on Youth Employment and Migration Decisions: Evidence from Rural Ethiopia," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 100(3), pages 931-954.
    38. Akpan, Imaobong & Sempere, Kas, 2019. "Hidden Inequalities: Tax Challenges of Market Women in Enugu and Kaduna States, Nigeria," Working Papers 14500, Institute of Development Studies, International Centre for Tax and Development.
    39. Stein Holden & Klaus Deininger & Hosaena Ghebru, 2011. "Tenure Insecurity, Gender, Low-cost Land Certification and Land Rental Market Participation in Ethiopia," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(1), pages 31-47.
    40. Feldstein, Martin S, 1977. "The Surprising Incidence of a Tax on Pure Rent: A New Answer to an Old Question," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 85(2), pages 349-360, April.
    41. Klaus Deininger & Daniel Ayalew Ali & Tekie Alemu, 2011. "Impacts of Land Certification on Tenure Security, Investment, and Land Market Participation: Evidence from Ethiopia," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 87(2), pages 312-334.
    42. Richard W. England, 2016. "Tax Incidence and Rental Housing: A Survey and Critique of Research," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 69(2), pages 435-460, June.
    43. World Bank, 2018. "Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2018 [Rapport 2018 sur la pauvreté et la prospérité partagée]," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 30418, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Komatsu, Hitomi & Ambel, Alemayehu A. & Koolwal, Gayatri & Yonis, Manex Bule, 2022. "Gender norms, landholdership, and rural land use fee and agricultural income tax in Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    2. Meinzen-Dick, Ruth & Quisumbing, Agnes & Doss, Cheryl & Theis, Sophie, 2019. "Women's land rights as a pathway to poverty reduction: Framework and review of available evidence," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 72-82.
    3. Holden, Stein T. & Tilahun, Mesfin, 2020. "Farm size and gender distribution of land: Evidence from Ethiopian land registry data," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    4. Fullerton, Don & Metcalf, Gilbert E., 2002. "Tax incidence," Handbook of Public Economics, in: A. J. Auerbach & M. Feldstein (ed.), Handbook of Public Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 26, pages 1787-1872, Elsevier.
    5. Takada, Jun & Shuto, Hisato, 2023. "Causal linkages between land reform and factor demand under tenure insecurity: Evidence from Amhara Region, Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    6. Holden, Stein T. & Tilahun, Mesfin, 2021. "Are land-poor youth accessing rented land? Evidence from northern Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    7. Fendrich, Arthur Nicolaus & Barretto, Alberto & Sparovek, Gerd & Gianetti, Giovani William & da Luz Ferreira, Jaqueline & de Souza Filho, Carlos Frederico Marés & Appy, Bernard & de Guedes, Carlos Mar, 2022. "Taxation aiming environmental protection: The case of Brazilian Rural Land Tax," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    8. Holden, Stein T., 2020. "Gender dimensions of land tenure reforms in Ethiopia 1995-2020," CLTS Working Papers 6/20, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Centre for Land Tenure Studies.
    9. Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela & Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Doss, Cheryl R. & Theis, Sophie, 2017. "Women’s land rights as a pathway to poverty reduction: A framework and review of available evidence," IFPRI discussion papers 1663, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    10. Adere, Tilahun Habtamu & Mertens, Kewan & Maertens, Miet & Vranken, Liesbet, 2022. "The impact of land certification and risk preferences on investment in soil and water conservation: Evidence from southern Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    11. George R. Zodrow, 2019. "Intrajurisdictional Capitalization and the Incidence of the Property Tax," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: George R Zodrow (ed.), TAXATION IN THEORY AND PRACTICE Selected Essays of George R. Zodrow, chapter 16, pages 489-522, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    12. Kamel Louhichi & Aymeric Ricome & Sergio Gomez y Paloma, 2022. "Impacts of agricultural taxation in Sub‐Saharan Africa: Insights from agricultural produce cess in Tanzania," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 53(5), pages 671-686, September.
    13. Kalkuhl, Matthias & Fernandez Milan, Blanca & Schwerhoff, Gregor & Jakob, Michael & Hahnen, Maren & Creutzig, Felix, 2017. "Fiscal Instruments for Sustainable Development: The Case of Land Taxes," MPRA Paper 78652, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane & Berhane, Guush & Minten, Bart & Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum, 2015. "Agricultural growth in Ethiopia (2004-2014): Evidence and drivers:," ESSP working papers 81, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    15. Ayelech Kidie Mengesha & Thomas Bauer & Doris Damyanovic & Sayeh Kassaw Agegnehu & Reinfried Mansberger & Gernot Stoeglehner, 2022. "Gender Analysis of Landholding and Situation of Female-Headed Households after Land Registration: The Case of Machakel Woreda," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-28, July.
    16. Ayalew, Hailemariam & Admasu, Yeshwas & Chamberlin, Jordan, 2021. "Is land certification pro-poor? Evidence from Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    17. James Mak, 2015. "Research Note: Are Hotel Property Taxes Fully Passed on to Hotel Guests? Implications from Recent Research on Property Tax Incidence," Tourism Economics, , vol. 21(4), pages 899-905, August.
    18. Muna Shifa & Murray Leibbrandt & Martin Wittenberg, 2015. "Does tenure insecurity explain the variations in land-related investment decisions in rural Ethiopia?," SALDRU Working Papers 150, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
    19. Haddis Solomon & Yoko Kijima, 2022. "Does Land Certification Mitigate the Negative Impact of Weather Shocks? Evidence from Rural Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-17, October.
    20. Mengesha, Ayelech Kidie & Damyanovic, Doris & Mansberger, Reinfried & Agegnehu, Sayeh Kassaw & Stoeglehner, Gernot, 2021. "Reducing gender inequalities through land titling? The case of Gozamin Woreda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agricultural Finance;

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:iaae21:315357. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iaaeeea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.