Taxes and tax reform in Ethiopia, 1990 - 2003

In 1991 the Ethiopian Revolution Democratic Front (EPRDF) toppled the old ‘socialist’ regime that had ruled the country for seventeen years. In contrast to the previous policy regime of hard control, EPRDF initiated a wide range of reforms that covered not only the tax system but also the exchange rate, interest rates, trade, domestic production and distribution. This paper attempts to explore the contribution of the tax reform, the changes in its structure and institutional reform in order to understand its role in raising revenue.