Taxation and Civicness in South Sudan

This policy brief identifies how three different eras of tax practices continue to inform extractive governance outcomes in South Sudan. The first commenced during colonial occupation of the country from 1899-1956. The next emerged during waves of coercive rebel and Khartoum-led tax practices from 1956 to 2005, and the present era of fragmented taxation and governance outcomes emerged from 2005-onwards. The contemporary legacy of these tax regimes is that taxes do not meaningfully contribute to service delivery and instead contribute to the country’s extractive political marketplace. This policy brief advances innovative tax reforms that constrain the country’s political marketplace and enhance pockets of civicness and taxation.