African Tax Officials receive TADAT training as the year kickstarts for ATAF

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. 

PRETORIA – The African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) has started its 2022 work programme with a Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool (TADAT) training for its Members.

Giving opening remarks on behalf of ATAF, the Senior Advisor to the Executive Secretary, Ms Varsha Singh, said she’s excited that ATAF is at the forefront of this initiative.

“We have been actively involved in the provision of technical assistance in the areas of international and domestic taxation to Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda over the last decade and in Somalia since 2021. ATAF’s collaboration with the TADAT secretariat to work together to improve Tax administrations on the African continent has grown significantly over the recent years and ATAF has participated and led several TADAT assessments and trainings on the African continent.” 

The joint training for Tax administrations senior managers from Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda is being provided from the 17 - 31 January 2022 via video conference.

This is the first joint senior leadership training for African revenue administrations and more such trainings are planned for the future. 

Ms Singh praised tax administrations for availing their senior management to take part in the training.

“Leadership involves making sound decisions, creating, and articulating a clear vision, establishing achievable goals and providing subordinates with the knowledge and tools necessary to achieve those goals. To be able to effectively achieve this, senior management need to have a good understanding of operations in order to achieve effective oversight of the tactical steps required to complete the work needed to actually achieve the objective.”

In her opening remarks, Ms Sameera Khan, ATAF’s Technical Assistance Manager, emphasized the importance of the inaugural TADAT senior management training.

“On our continent, we face many challenges, but we remain positive in developing solutions to overcome these challenges. Therefore, there is constant focus on providing training that is impactful and contributes to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of tax administration resulting ultimately in additional revenue collection. TADAT training is such a training that can effectively contribute to achieving the above goal,” Ms Khan said.

The TADAT tool was launched in 2015, to help Tax administrations assess their strengths and weaknesses as objectively as possible according to a baseline of what is perceived to be internationally good practice for tax administrations.

It provides a baseline that informs country authorities on areas in need of improvement so that they can prioritize, plan and sequence responses/interventions.

The tool is built around 55 measurements dimensions which help it identify the “what” and “why” with respect to the performance of tax administrations. 

The resulting assessment report inputs significantly into the reform objectives, design, sequencing and prioritisation of technical assistance (TA). Furthermore, the TADAT training is designed to equip participants with thorough knowledge of the TADAT methodology, tax administration international good practice, and the necessary professional skills to conduct formal or internal/self-benchmarking TADAT assessments.

TADAT training is very useful in equipping the participants with the knowledge and skills to: Interpretate TADAT assessment results and how to strengthen or update tax administration reform strategies and work plans; 

• How TADAT metrics can be incorporated into day-to-day tax administrations’ performance monitoring and evaluation systems as well as using the TADAT assessment results as a baseline. 
• The advantage of having TADAT training prior to the actual assessment is that the officials trained can then have the knowledge to initiate the required changes to meet international good practice within the tax administration and to adequately prepare the administration for the actual TADAT assessment. An exam (with a 75 percent pass mark) is offered for participants interested in being certified as TADAT-trained persons or assessors, depending on eligibility criteria.

Ms Singh said the TADAT training is a crucial step in equipping leadership with the knowledge to implement international best practices within African tax administrations.

“I want to encourage you to seize this opportunity with both hands and fully immerse yourself in the exciting upcoming training. The steering committee has put together an experienced team of trainers and I have no doubt that that this training will be very beneficial for you,” she added.

THE BENEFITS OF COLLABORATION

This collaborative effort between ATAF and the TADAT Secretariat therefore ensures that participating countries are able to not only conduct a comprehensive diagnostic on their tax administration’s performance, but can immediately use the feedback to begin designing and implementing the required remedial actions, with the help of ATAF’s Technical Assistance (TA) Programmes. Indeed, ATAF’s TA programmes help African Revenue Authorities and administrations address capacity, policy, administration and legislative challenges to raise much-needed domestic revenues.

As often indicated by ATAF’s Executive Secretary Mr Logan Wort, Technical Assistance is at the core of the organisation’s mandate to improve tax systems in Africa.

This TADAT training for senior management is a crucial step in equipping our leadership with the knowledge to effectively implement international best practices within African tax administrations contributing to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of tax administration resulting ultimately in additional revenue collection.

A total of 150 participants comprising of CGs, Commissioners, Deputy and Assistant Commissioners, Directors and Heads of departments from the national revenue administrations of the respective countries and subnational/ local governments are attending the training. 

“Having so many African tax administrations participating in this training at the same time contributes to peer to peer learning and knowledge transfer by using resources and expertise available in the continent to deliver the training and provide homegrown solutions to continental challenges.” Added Ms Khan. 

Similar collaborative initiatives are set to target other tax administrations in the year ahead in line with ATAF’s 2022 work plan.