Abstract
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.