Burdened by debt and the need to fund public services, African governments continue to rely heavily on consumption taxes for revenue. Taxes on goods and services accounted for 51.2% of tax revenues across the 38 countries studied in 2023. Meanwhile, taxes on wealth generated an average of just 0.3% of GDP, reflecting an imbalance driven by informality and the ease of tax collection, but one that places a proportionally heavier burden on low-income households than on the holders of large fortunes.
