ATAF signs MoU with TARC aimed at strengthening African tax administrations

PRETORIA - We are delighted to announce that the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) and the Tax Administration Research Centre (TARC, University of Exeter Business School, UK), have signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). 

The MoU establishes a working relationship between ATAF and TARC, where the two institutions will work together towards developing several collaborative activities to support the key principle guiding this cooperation: a shared desire to improve tax systems in Africa. 

ATAF is an international organisation established in 2009 serving as an African network which aims to improve tax systems in Africa, increase accountability of the State to its citizen, enhance domestic resource mobilisation and thereby foster inclusive economic growth. The tax administrations of 40 countries in Africa are members of ATAF, i.e., 74 percent of tax administrations on the continent, making it the premier body on tax matters on the continent. TARC is a publicly funded Research Centre founded in 2013, with the mission to deliver outstanding interdisciplinary research in tax and tax administration and policy, that addresses the major challenges and strategic priorities confronting policymakers and tax authorities across the world. ATAF and TARC recognise that tax administrations face unprecedented challenges in what they do and that there is significant benefit to society from sharing expertise and operational, practical, and scientific knowledge. ATAF and TARC are committed to working towards improving the understanding of policymakers and practitioners in tax authorities of how tax systems can be enhanced, to meet the overarching strategic goal of maximising domestic resource mobilisation on the continent. 

In the words of Professor Christos Kotsogiannis, Director of the Tax Administration Research Centre: ‘Collaborative knowledge production constitutes the only viable strategy in the face of the challenges presented to society. The bold ambition of the collaboration with ATAF is not only to identify those challenges but, importantly, to propose viable solutions that address them, thereby improving much needed revenue mobilization in Africa.’

As ATAF further pursues its goal of serving African tax administrations, it recognises the key role of collaborations with like-minded organisations to remove duplication and consolidate efforts aimed at building efficient and effective tax administrations. The collaboration with TARC will significantly contribute to achieving ATAF’s mission through improved knowledge exchanges, capacity development and technical assistance.