The ATAF Tax Academy

THE ATAF TAX ACADEMY

The ATAF Tax Academy (ATA) falls under the Members Service Division of the ATAF Secretariat. The ATA is positioned among the front-line offerings of ATAF that directly contributes to growth and development of individuals and revenue authorities through delivery of capacity building programmes. The initiatives that are offered by the tax academy are designed and structured with the aim of addressing the skills gap in the core functional areas within tax administrations and those arising from the changing global tax landscape.

The Academy offers products and services in four main categories namely: Training Programmes (short and long-term accredited and non-accredited courses); collaborative research through the African Tax Research Network (ATRN) and the African Multidisciplinary Tax Journal (AMTJ); The Tax Information Centre in form of the Tax Administration Library (TAL); and academic programmes which encompass collaboration with accredited universities and institutions.

The tax academy embraces the hybrid mode of delivering its programmes where some programmes are offered under physical setting whilst others are delivered virtually. It’s critical strength and core value is that it strives to use expertise from the continent in delivering its programmes. This ensures certainty and sustainability, fosters peer-to-peer learning and above all, unleashes untapped potential and competencies which can bring tried and tested solutions to challenges faced by tax administrations in Africa. The academy is strategically forward looking by investing in growing and maintaining a pool of experts for delivering trainings and technical assistance to its members. It also equips young researchers, particularly women who are trained to contribute to the body of knowledge, both in taxation and domestic revenue mobilisation.

Additionally, the academy values collaboration with other institutions by working closely with universities and or training schools and partner organizations in meeting capacity related member needs.

SHORT COURSES

ATA deals with Online Courses and Short Courses which allows for face-to-face or classroom interaction.

These are face-to-face classroom session which runs from three (3) to five (5) days on proposed area of need in the respective year. The courses are hosted in different countries, they still target tax officials from tax administration of ATAF member countries.

As it is with the online courses, ATAF sends communications to tax administrations through a calendar of activities, training prospectus and/or a call for invitations. The communication is expected to specify the target group, venue, dates and fees/costs to participants. Potential trainees are nominated by respective tax administrations and names are sent to ATAF for further engagement with respective trainees. All communication between ATAF and tax administrations are channelled through ATAF Country Correspondents.