Logan Wort on how the African Tax Administration Discussion board ( ATAF) advanced from disaster response to strategic establishment—and why Africa’s tax future depends upon scale, velocity, and unity
Once we first imagined ATAF, there was no assure it might survive, not to mention thrive. There had been different makes an attempt to coordinate tax cooperation in Africa, however they lacked political buy-in and long-term imaginative and prescient. We emerged throughout a worldwide monetary disaster, when African states confronted rising growth wants and declining help. When Heads of African Tax Administration met in Pretoria in 2008, South Africa’s then Finance Minister, Trevor Manuel, instructed us plainly: Do not waste the disaster.
We did not.
The African Tax Administration Discussion board (ATAF) was born from urgency, nevertheless it was constructed for longevity. As a substitute of mimicking worldwide fashions, we designed an African establishment from the bottom up, technically credible, politically grounded, and continentally owned. Eleven technical workshops came about earlier than we even launched. And once we did, in Kampala in 2009, 25 international locations had already signed up.
From the beginning, we knew that member states would not tolerate empty rhetoric. So we went straight to work. Our Nation Help Programme helped Uganda uncover US$79 million in tax leakages within the espresso sector. Rwanda’s collaboration with SARS on income forecasting grew to become a template for sustainable planning. These weren’t theoretical wins; they translated into clinics, school rooms, and group companies.
We constructed ATAF on a peer-to-peer mannequin. That was the distinction. Our Government Council was not made up of proxies; it was made up of sitting Commissioners-Basic, individuals who knew precisely what pressures and prospects their administrations confronted. That meant our recommendation was credible. Our choices, grounded.
Through the years, ATAF’s credibility deepened via outcomes. In Côte d’Ivoire, ATAF’s collaboration helped design a extra responsive digital companies tax framework that aligned with the realities of a rising e-commerce sector. In Namibia, assist for tax audits and authorized reform helped double collections between 2021 and 2023. These are usually not one-off circumstances; they’re indicators of a bigger sample: the place Africa leads, outcomes observe.
However institutional resilience is just not solely about supply. It is also about voice. ATAF was instrumental in shifting the dialog on the OECD and UN. We moved from being seen as beneficiaries to being equal individuals. As we speak, African consultants like Matthew Gbonjubola are co-chairing world tax committees. Our affect is not aspirational; it’s lively, strategic, and visual.
This issues. As a result of the way forward for tax is being written now in digital companies, in local weather finance, in AI-driven economies. These points are usually not summary. They form how income is raised and who controls the frameworks behind it. ATAF is responding by working towards a continent-wide tax know-how innovation hub. This hub will assist African international locations develop trendy techniques, share digital instruments, and construct the form of agility wanted to manipulate in actual time.
We’re additionally getting ready to scale. Our partnerships with the African Union, the African Improvement Financial institution, and sub-regional our bodies are extra necessary than ever. Because the African Continental Free Commerce Space (AfCFTA) begins to reshape intra-African commerce, tax techniques should adapt and coordinate. ATAF’s function right here is important.
The G20’s arrival in Africa presents a uncommon alternative. But it surely’s additionally a take a look at. Will we form the agenda or reply to it? ATAF is prepared, however we want full assist from our governments and a transparent dedication to scale what works. We want funding not simply in instruments, however in individuals, together with tax officers, analysts, policymakers, and researchers who perceive that tax is just not a back-office operate, however a lever of sovereignty.
Sure, headwinds are rising. Protectionist commerce insurance policies and tariff nationalism are re-emerging globally, particularly in highly effective economies. Multilateralism is below pressure. However we have already confirmed that African collaboration can work and that homegrown establishments can lead.
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For 15 years, ATAF has delivered. Now could be the time to consolidate, scale, and step ahead. As a result of the way forward for tax won’t watch for us.
This month, as I finish my tenure because the Government Secretary for ATAF for over 15 years, I welcome Mary Baine as the brand new Government Secretary. I do know Mary will succeed and lead with ardour.
We’re prepared.
Logan Wort is the outgoing Government Secretary of the African Tax Administration Discussion board (ATAF), a physique he helped present in 2009 to strengthen tax techniques throughout the continent. Over 15 years, he has led ATAF to change into a revered voice in world tax reform, serving to African international locations get better billions in income and construct world-class tax capability. Recognised globally for his management, he was named one of many 10 most influential individuals in tax in 2022 by Worldwide Tax Assessment. A South African by origin, Logan brings distinctive perception into African fiscal sovereignty, multilateral diplomacy, and the significance of constructing establishments that final.
