ATAF PUBLISHES MEASURES TO HELP MANAGE THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON TAX
African Tax Administration Forum • April 8, 2020
April 08, 2020, Pretoria, South Africa – The African Tax Administration has published a document titled “Suggested COVID-19 Measures for Revenue Authorities” in an effort to alleviate the impact of COVID-19 on African countries’ ability to raise tax revenues.
The African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) released today a series of suggested measures that African Revenue Authorities should consider in their responses to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The document comes at a time when an increasing number of African countries are being affected by the virus, with devastating effects on health and national economies.
Although the impact of the COVID-19 has been, thus far, most damaging in Asia, Europe and America, many African countries, including South Africa, Algeria, Morocco and Egypt, have crossed the 1000 mark in terms of their number of confirmed cases.
ATAF’s Suggested COVID-19 Measures for Revenue Authorities
therefore provides guidelines to respond to the tax-related challenges, current and anticipated, posed by the pandemic. It takes into account the peculiarities of African Tax jurisdictions and systems, as well as the uniqueness of the African socio-political and economic landscapes. The measures are a combination of short-term actions that can be immediately implemented by Tax administrations and medium to long term interventions which may require legislative or policy changes for their effective implementation.
The Executive Secretary of ATAF, Mr Logan Wort has raised the need to act swiftly and efficiently while the infection rates are still relatively low on the continent. In his foreword, he reiterates that “African countries are fortunate as the pandemic has not affected the continent to the extent that it has devastated other parts of the world. This gives us a window of opportunity to learn from the lessons of countries who are further along the curve in their battle against COVID 19.”
ATAF’s Suggested COVID-19 Measures for Revenue Authorities form part of the organisation’s efforts to help Members limit the damaging impact of the virus on Domestic Resource Mobilisation.
During the meeting, both organisations reflected on their long-standing partnership and noted the milestones achieved to date.
Ms. Baine succeeds Mr. Logan Wort , who has served as ATAF’s Executive Secretary since its establishment in 2009.
Les progrès du Bénin en matière d'analyse des données et de prévision ont également été stimulés par d'autres activités d'apprentissage par les pairs de l'ATAF.
At the heart of the discussions was the impact of the toolkits, suggested approaches, policy briefs, and technical notes developed by the committees.
Ms Mary Baine welcomed Minister Mthuli Ncube's pledge to champion tax advocacy on the continent and mobilise his counterparts for support to the African perspectives in the continental and global tax reforms agenda.
The training marked Phase One of ATAF’s broader research development programme, designed to cultivate a new generation of African tax researchers. It provides not just academic instruction, but practical tools for applying research to real-world tax challenges.
The session brought together tax officials from across Africa. Kenya, Nigeria, and Zambia presented their experiences, while Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, and Burkina Faso officials participated in the peer learning discussions.
ATAF in partnership with the World Bank Group and the Zambia Revenue Authority launched its first technical workshop to jointly design and develop a regional Automatic Exchange of Information IT solution.
This initiative forms part of a broader regional study aimed at supporting African tax administrations in assessing the legal and administrative feasibility of strengthening compliance among individuals with substantial assets.
The ATAF Model Tax Agreement serves as a guiding instrument to help African nations negotiate treaties that better protect their interests, ensure fair allocation of taxing rights, and enhance domestic revenue mobilisation.