This is the eighth in a series of briefing documents for the media from the RELAY programme. RELAY works with Southern print and broadcast journalists to communicate the findings of academic research in an accessible way. This issue focuses on the links between taxation and governance. Copyrights. Panos London, November 2009

The document by Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE), is a brief paper on the gender analysis of the Uganda taxation sector. This gender analysis provides a basis for investigating the gender dimension in tax policy formulation and Central Government tax administration carried out by Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).

The document provides a gender analysis of the Australian Treasurer's 2006/2007 budgetary changes by examining the gender impacts of newly introduced tax concessions. It identifies the groups most able to take advantage of these as being income and flexible-asset rich Australians (which include relatively few women).The paper concludes by identifying the elements of a budgetary approach that would contribute to a more female- friendly retirement incomes policy.

Considering revenue collection and taxation as a strategy in work for women's rights and poverty alleviation is important. Different forms of taxation, and the complexities of taxation systems, frequently include a number of gender biases. For example, consumption taxes may be biased against poor women who spend a larger proportion of their incomes on consumption goods. It is important to understand and eliminate these biases for both gender and social equity. This paper is intended to provide...