By Oluwakemi Kindness
The African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) are stepping up efforts to help African countries plug tax leakages, improve compliance and raise more domestic revenue.
The two institutions reached the commitment during a meeting between an ATAF delegation led by Council Chair Dr Johnston Makhubu and AUC Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals, H.E. Francisca Belobe, at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
According to the AUC and ATAF, in a statement stronger cooperation will support African countries in tackling cross-border tax evasion, illicit financial flows and aggressive tax practices.
A key focus is the effective use of the Agreement on Mutual Assistance in Tax Matters (AMATM), which allows tax administrations to exchange information, assist in tax collection and conduct joint tax examinations.
The institutions also discussed strengthening Africa’s tax treaty networks through the ATAF Model Double Taxation Agreement, which is designed to help countries protect their taxing rights and reflect their development priorities.
The cooperation will also target revenue challenges in extractive industries and other hard-to-tax sectors, where valuation issues, cross-border transactions and limited access to relevant information can make effective taxation difficult.
The AUC said stronger private-sector engagement could also improve voluntary compliance, broaden the tax base and increase participation in African economies.
The AUC and ATAF will now work towards renewing their Memorandum of Understanding and developing a detailed work plan covering tax policy and administration, treaty matters, mutual assistance, private-sector engagement and taxation of strategic and hard-to-tax sectors.
