APPLIED RESEARCH

Being the Data, Statistics, and Knowledge Hub on African Tax Matters in Africa

The ATAF Secretariat continues building an African repository of high quality, relevant scientific knowledge on tax to change and/or influence the discourse, the narrative and thought leadership around taxation on the continent but also balance the existing body of scientific knowledge with the perspective from Africa.

To achieve this strategic mandate over the medium to long run, the ATAF Secretariat, through its various activities and projects, promotes homegrown and innovative applied solutions, backed by robustly scientific research, evidence-based and policy-relevant, that will assist decisionmakers in strengthening African tax systems and maximizing domestic revenue mobilization in Africa. In other words, the applied research produced by ATAF should ultimately be translated into tax administration reforms, influence tax policy formulation, inform the regional and global dialogue, and foster peer learning and more research in Africa and beyond.

In addition, as a principle, the ATAF research agenda is mainly demand-driven i.e. responding to the needs and priorities of ATAF members; However, ATAF also follows proactive and innovative approaches to research in order to produce African-grown implementable solutions and feasible policy recommendations. It strives to be a leader in equipping or informing members about emerging issues that may affect African tax systems. Given the ATAF Secretariat’s knowledge of the African and global tax landscape, it is empowered to initiate research and projects based on the Secretariat’s perception of gaps, opportunities and reforms towards maximizing domestic resource mobilisation in Africa; thus going above and beyond meeting members’ current needs to being active, flexible and innovative.

These objectives are intended to be achieved through the swift production of, among others, high quality ATAF position papers, the African multidisciplinary tax journal, , policy briefs, books, working papers, and reports combining technical expertise on the ground with internationally recognised research techniques. It will also be done through the production of African manuals or practical guidelines on thematics such as: trade mispricing, the model tax administration for Africa, VAT, curbing the tax challenges of digitalisation in Africa, transfer pricing, informal sector, etc.  

Furthermore, ATAF aims to become the data hub on African tax matters and tax systems, by safeguarding the availability of homogenous data and statistics for ATAF’s members. To this end, ATAF continues to strengthen its position as the center of excellence for the comparability, analysis, consistency, quality and accessibility of harmonized national data on tax and customs administration revenue. Tax administrations in Africa generate considerable bodies of data that stem from all variety of tax statements and returns in all categories of taxes and duties. Yet such data are often under-collected and underutilised. Statistics and in-depth analysis thereof are a condition for better policy formulation and fiscal planning. Indeed, without them there can be neither efficient policy nor sustainable reforms. In addition, producing empirical data and statistics will strongly contribute towards enhancing the credibility and visibility of ATAF and its members, strengthening our position and legitimacy, and establishing ATAF as a data centre on tax matters in Africa.

Research Publications

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