Published on September 3, 2026 – Updated on September 3, 2026
Location

Pôle Tertiaire - Site La Rotonde - 26 avenue Léon Blum - 63000 Clermont-Ferrand

The CERDI will host the final conference of the TEFISCON project on September 9-10, 2026

The final conference of the TEFISCON project will be held on 9 and 10 September 2026 in our department at the Pôle Tertiaire - La Rotonde in Clermont-Ferrand.

We asked Jean-François Brun (CERDI, UCA) a few questions about the event and the research program that he initiated with Christian von Haldenwang (IDOS) in 2022.

What's the purpose of the TEFISCON project?

We are conducting this project with IDOS, the German Institute for Development and Sustainability. This is an interdisciplinary research program that brings together political scientists and economists. It is supported by the French national agency for research and the German Research Foundation.

On 9-10 October, the team will meet for the final conference. Our partners from the four countries where we conducted the surveys will also participate in the conference: Colombia, Morocco, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. We will also have the researchers and stakeholders who are members of the consultative committee with us.

Can you tell us more about the results?

Yes, we are putting the final touches to the working papers that we will publish by the end of the year. Thanks to the surveys, we have a set of unique data that allows us to analyze what citizens think about taxation and the budgetary contract. Our results show that they are generally not well informed about tax exemptions.

Thus, taxpayers are mistaken about those exemptions, even on value-added tax (VAT). It is included in the price of the goods and services we buy. That's why citizens deserve to be informed and understand how it works. For example, most of them don't know which category of the population gets reductions of VAT. Typically, the poorer do not.

Our surveys show that when the respondents become aware of the impact of those measures on tax justice, they are less likely to approve them.

How can developing countries reduce their fiscal expenditures?

Governments should care about transparency. We can now determine the amount that will be acceptable to taxpayers and which category to target.

We see some implications for economic policy. Decision-makers in developing countries should cancel exemptions that impose the greatest burden on public finances and do not serve the most vulnerable citizens. This will contribute to reinforcing fiscal compliance and tax conformity.

That's what we will discuss on 9 and 10 September at CERDI.

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