Gender, Taxation Policy, and Informal Market Traders in Urban Africa

African Journal of Gender and Women Studies | Vol. 11, No. 11, November 2026 | pp. 99–112

DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001352

Article Type: Research Article

Title: Gender, Taxation Policy, and Informal Market Traders in Urban Africa

Names of Author: Beatrice Boateng-Mensah¹ & Marcus Lindholm²

Author's Affiliation: ¹Department of Economics, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana; ²Department of Economics, Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm, Sweden.

Abstract:
Municipal revenue authorities across African cities rely heavily on daily market tolls, licensing fees, and presumptive flat-rate taxes collected from informal street and market traders, the vast majority of whom are women. Because flat-rate levies take no account of actual profit margins, low-income female traders pay a significantly higher proportion of their earnings in taxes than formal corporate enterprises. Despite their substantial fiscal contributions, women traders routinely endure municipal harassment, arbitrary confiscation of goods, and a severe lack of basic market infrastructure such as clean toilets, drainage, and childcare centers. This paper analyzes the gendered equity implications of informal-sector taxation in Kumasi, Ghana, and Kampala, Uganda. Utilizing feminist fiscal sociology, the research combines tax-incidence surveys of 200 female market traders with interviews involving market queens and municipal revenue officials. We advocate for progressive presumptive tax brackets and participatory municipal budgeting.

Keywords: Gender and taxation, informal economy, market traders, feminist fiscal sociology, municipal governance, urban infrastructure, Ghana, Uganda

Manuscript Timeline: Received: September 26, 2026; Revised: October 25, 2026; Accepted: October 29, 2026; Published: November 16, 2026.

Citation: Boateng-Mensah, B., & Lindholm, M. (2026). Gender, Taxation Policy, and Informal Market Traders in Urban Africa. African Journal of Gender and Women Studies, 11(11), 99–112. DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/001352

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