Area-based land taxes exist in low- and middle-income countries, where rural land markets do not exist or do not function well.
Using newly available data on tax payments and self-reported individual land ownership from the Ethiopian Socioeconomic Survey 2018/2019, this paper assessed the gender implications of an area-based rural land use fee and agricultural income tax in Ethiopia.
Findings show that the gender land ownership patterns, norms limiting women’s role in agriculture, household structures, and gender agricultural productivity gaps are likely to result in lower consumption, and consequently, a higher tax burden for women. Also, the gendered landholding patterns within households, result in a smaller difference in tax burdens between male and female landholders than between female-only and dual households.This points to the importance of data on individual ownership in survey data to reveal such differences and to ensure that policies are effectively targeted.