News at ATAF

PRETORIA – The African Tax Administration Forums (ATAF) conducted a poll on social media platforms Twitter and LinkedIn to ask the question ‘COVID-19 showed the disparities in Africa. How can revenues be raised from the informal sector?’

The NEXUS meeting urged African governments to implement progressive investment-related reforms to increase local and international trade that will leverage AfCFTA and boost Domestic Resource Mobilisation.

The African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF)’s 29th Cross Border Taxation (CBT) Technical Committee Meeting unanimously elected Ms Mercy Mbithi from the Kenya Revenue Authority as the Chair of the CBT.

A new study published by ATAF delves into gender considerations in the development of tax policies in member countries as a first step towards achieving tax parity across genders.

The training provided the tax auditors with a deeper understanding of the sector which will enable them to effectively audit the telecommunication sector.

Speaking at the 11th Africa Initiative meeting in Nairobi Kenya, Mr. Wort noted that the continent has been negatively affected by tax transparency on IFFs disproportionate to the rest of the world.

The first major event in the pipeline is a joint technical and consultative webinar, which will be held on 23 June 2022, and will engage experts on the African continent to provide input into the first draft of the background paper for the project and the draft agenda.

In order to improve tax revenue mobilization, the Madagascar Revenue Authority has embarked on a series of legislative, administrative, and institutional reforms in recent years.

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The second volume of the AMTJ contains 16 papers, featuring 27 authors from diverse backgrounds including African Tax administrations, Ministries of Finance, academia, policymakers private sector, and researchers.

2022 commenced with countries who have signed the Inclusive Framework agreement of October 2021 scrambling to attend a deluge of Inclusive Framework meetings with the purpose of designing the new rules agreed to in October, writes ATAF’s Thulani Shongwe.

During a joint ATAF and the Tax Administration Research Centre webinar called ‘Tax Audits in Africa: Policy and Administration Reflections’, administrations and academics shared good the overview of tax audits in Africa.

ATAF partnered with VERO – Finland’s tax administration to deliver long-term Technical Assistance to the Kenya Revenue Authority.

The context of ATAF’s Global Tax Governance Workshop was to create awareness amongst tax administrations on how the global tax governance architecture has emerged.

The 1st Sub-Committee on Tax and Illicit Finical Flows of the African Union’s Specialised Technical Committee on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration began by highlighting the need for African

ATAF helps African jurisdictions to improve revenue mobilization by sharing best practices on effective VAT administration for cross-border supply in the digital economy.

ATAF works closely with various organisations to promote ongoing management and leadership training across all levels of Tax Administration.

ATAF and TEDI are providing sector focussed audit Technical assistance in banking, insurance, telecoms, tourism, and more.

Logan Wort, the African Tax Administration Forum’s Executive Secretary, told ‘Law360’ he’s advocating against the possibility the U.S. will move forward with previously threatened sanctions on countries that don’t give up revenue-raising DSTs.

A study published in the African Multidisciplinary Tax Journal (AMTJ) attempted to evaluate the impact of the implementation of EFDs on VAT compliance and VAT revenues in Malawi.

We can hire and promote based on capability; not have stereotypes; enact legislation to achieve gender parity, Mr Logan Wort, ATAF’s Executive Secretary said.

Women who today occupy leadership and decision-making positions did so by overcoming considerable biases and need to be at the forefront in mobilizing women to express their views and demand what they deserve.

Eswatini Revenue Service is the recipient of an ATAF Technical assistance programme aimed at upskilling the Tax administration’s staff in data analytics.

The 6th edition of ATAF’s flagship publication the African Tax Outlook will focus on building resilience against global shocks with special reference to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mere words cannot express the shock and pain we at ATAF have on learning about the passing of Agnes, the former Deputy Commissioner- General of the Rwanda Revenue Authority, an accomplished continental tax practitioner, friend, and dear colleague to us all!

“ATAF In the New Decade” OUTCOME STATEMENT 17-18 February 2022

ATAF’s Members Somalia, Angola, and Mauritius all agreed that the effect of the tax training program was significant for their tax administrations.

In an exclusive conversation with ITR’s Leanna Reeves, Logan Wort talks about ATAF’s effort to simplify the OECD’s pillar one proposal and the programmes’ success in collecting more revenue for developing countries.

Building tax administration capacity is needed to stimulate development in terms of job creation, functioning roads and hospitals and improve education systems on the continent.

ATAF has kickstarted the year on a development note by partnering with the TADAT secretariat to deliver TADAT training to senior management for African revenue administrations. Senior managers from Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda (ATAF Members) received training on the TADAT methodology benchmarked against international best practice This is the first joint TADAT senior leadership training for African revenue administrations.

ATAF’s Cross-border Taxation Technical Committee (CBT) met on Tuesday 18 and Wednesday 19 to reflect on some of the challenges and opportunities deriving from last year’s global agreement on the taxation of the digital economy.

We are delighted to announce that the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) and the Tax Administration Research Centre (TARC, University of Exeter Business School, UK), have signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). 

PRETORIA – Sitting in a hotel room in Kenya, Nairobi, ATAF Women In Tax Network (AWITN)’s Vice President, Chenai Mukumba wholeheartedly talks to us about representation in the tax industry, her career and lessons she’s learning along the way.

PRETORIA – As the year 2021 draws to an end, the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to be felt.

PRETORIA – “African countries should review their tax incentive regimes and policies to evaluate the impact that the Pillar Two minimum tax rate rules might have on their effectiveness.” The African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF)’S Executive Secretary, Mr Logan Wort said.

With a degree in Economics, a Masters in Business Administration, and a PhD in International Strategic Studies – Dr Amélia Muendane – the President of the Mozambique Revenue Authority and Chairperson of the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) Women in Tax Network (ATAF), recently opened up about her leadership journey.

The 5th International Conference on Tax in Africa (ICTA) took place virtually from the 3rd to 5th November 2021 under the theme, “Domestic Resource Mobilisation: Accelerating Technology for African Tax Administrations”.

The 5th International Conference on Tax in Africa (ICTA) hosted by the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) kicked off on Wednesday 03 November 2021. 

The biggest tax event in Africa has finally arrived! 

An ATAF Delegation led by the Executive Secretary, Mr Logan Wort, was received by the Ethiopian State Minister of Revenues, His Excellency  Ato Tesfaye Tulu on Wednesday 20 October.

The Executive Secretary of ATAF, Mr Logan Wort, made official visits to the organisation’s Council members in the aim of determining the areas in which they require ATAF’s support due to the effects of  the COVID 19 pandemic, as well as strengthening collaboration with members. One of the areas under discussion was ATAF’s New Decade Project.

The Executive Secretary of ATAF, Logan Wort, presented a six-pillar approach to combatting Illicit Financial Flows from Africa during the 7th Annual Tax Summit organised by the Kenya Revenue Authority from 13 to 14 October 2021.

After slightly over 2 years of intense negotiations and engagements, On 8th October, most (136) members of the Inclusive Framework agreed a new set of international tax rules to address the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy.

The African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) continues to provide Technical Assistance (TA) to Members to help improve tax revenues. 

The ATAF Women in Tax Network (AWITN) is hosting a leadership conference on 7 October 2021 with the theme African Women in Leadership.

The ATAF-GIZ Conference on Transparency and Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) stressed that political commitment is required in the implementation of the recommendations of the High-Level Panel (HLP), which was widely adopted by the AU.

The African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF)’s 6th African Tax Research Network (ATRN) Congress took place virtually via Zoom video conferencing from 6th to 8th September 2021 in partnership with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and Kenya School of Revenue Administration (KESRA) who were the hosts.

The African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), is getting ready for the ATAF-GIZ Conference on Transparency and Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs), happening from 15-16 September.

The African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) is getting ready for the 6th African Tax Research Network (ATRN) Congress which will take place virtually from 6-8 September 2021.

PRETORIA – The African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) in partnership with Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), is getting ready for the 6th African Tax Research Network (ATRN) Congress.

With full implementation of Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI), residents in various tax jurisdictions with offshore bank accounts are required by the law to provide tax information to their banks to enable tax authorities to check on their tax compliance. 

The African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) continues to provide Technical Assistance (TA) to Members to help improve tax revenues. In the month of July, TA was provided to several ATAF Member countries.

The Cross Border Taxation (CBT) has elected a new Chairperson and a Deputy.

Nana Akua Mensah, Tax Policy Advisor from the Ghana Revenue Authority, said her new role at the United Nations (UN) Tax Committee means it will give voice to the perspective of African women on tax and its implications on gender.

In a continuous recognition and acknowledgement of women’s contribution to the liberation of South Africa, we celebrate Women’s Day on 9th August each year. We pay tribute to the more than 20,000 women who marched to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956, to protest the extension of pass laws to women. Every year, in August, South Africa marks Women’s Month. 

Technical Assistance has been at the heart of ATAF’s work since its foundation in 2009. It provides concrete benefits to recipient countries including by increasing the effectiveness of their revenue collection, filling identified gaps and strengthening the capacities of tax administrations. 

Pretoria, 09 July 2021 – The African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) held a consultative meeting with its members to discuss the establishment of regional capacity building hubs.

After several years of intensive negotiations, 130 members of the Inclusive Framework have issued a statement on a two-pillar solution to address the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy.

PRETORIA – “This is what Africa needs, and I am privileged to witness it…”

PRETORIA – The African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) is excited to announce the launch of two guidebooks titled, Efficient Acquisition, Implementation and Maintenance of Integrated Revenue Administration Systems in Africa and The Efficient Taxation of the Informal Sector in Africa.

Juta and the African Tax Administration Forum partner to publish Africa’s first-ever multidisciplinary tax journal

PRETORIA – Will the G7 tax deal force multinational (MNE) companies to pay their fair share of tax? 

PRETORIA – The Financial Accountability Transparency and Integrity (FACTI) Panel met with African Tax Authorities to discuss the  the effects of Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) on developing and developed countries. More specifically, the meeting aimed at raising awareness among African government officials on the FACTI Panel recommendations to promote financial integrity and transparency globally. 

The Tax Transparency in Africa 2021 report, was launched under the auspices of the Africa Initiative, outlines the state of play for 34 African Union members and details their progress in implementing and benefiting from the tax transparency and exchange of information (EOI) standards. The report is a production of the Global Forum, AUC, OECD and the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF).

PRETORIA – The 4th African Union (AU) Specialised Technical Committee (STC) on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration is taking place virtually from 17 to 21 May 2021.

POST-COVID TAXATION: POLICY AND ADMINISTRATIVE STRATEGIES FOR MOBILISING ENHANCED DOMESTIC TAXES IN AFRICA

Following extensive consultations with its members, ATAF sent revised Pillar One proposals to the Inclusive Framework today. These proposals respond to both the Inclusive Framework blueprint report released for public consultation in October 2020 and the recent proposals from the USA to revise the blueprint proposals.

PRETORIA – The African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) kicked off the first day of the two-day 5th High-Level Tax Policy Dialogue with discussions on balanced approaches to tax policy, the role of indirect tax policy and the future of resource taxation.

PRETORIA – The African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) in collaboration with the African Union (AU) and African Development Bank (AfDB) is gearing up for the 5th High-Level Tax Policy Dialogue, with the theme ‘Post-Covid Taxation: Policy and Administrative Strategies for Mobilising Enhanced Domestic Taxes in Africa.’

Cities are responsible for about 80% of global GDP[1] and rapid urbanisation represents one of the biggest growth opportunity in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs). Therefore, comprehensive urban development is now being considered as a critical component to national growth and development strategies.

By John Rujoki Musinguzi, Commissioner General – Uganda Revenue Authority, Mary Baine, Director – Tax Programmes, African Tax Administration Forum, Zayda Manatta, Head of the Secretariat of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, and Marcello Estevão, Global Director, Macroeconomics, Trade & Investment, World Bank Group

Do you have an idea to help governments collect revenue from their mineral resources? Would you like to present it to officials in ministries of mining and finance in developing countries?

The Launch of the ATAF Women in Tax Network attracted over 500 participants from Revenue Administrations, Ministries of Finance, and other governmental organisations from over 56 countries in African and beyond, the African Union Commission, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), Academic Institutions, Civil Society, Development Partners including the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and other key partners, individual tax policy experts and private sector players.