time keeping abreast of the developments and requirements arising from the changing global tax and economic landscape. The quandary for many of our members is how to prioritise their domestic needs and comply with their international obligations in an environment where resources are constrained. 

This underlines the importance of ensuring that policymakers and tax administrators work together to optimise domestic resource mobilisation in African countries. In the absence of a continental forum on tax policy, ATAF has played a vital role in highlighting the nexus between tax policy and administration. In addition to the annual High-Level Policy Dialogue conference, ATAF in 2019 engaged with the African Union, Pan African Parliament and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in the interest of promoting a unified African position on the proposed changes to global tax rules due to the digitalisation of the economy.

The organisation continues to champion the interest of African countries in the global tax arena. ATAF, through its participation in international tax forums, played a leading role in articulating the key priorities of African countries on the tax challenges arising from digitalisation to ensure that the outcomes consider the interests of African countries. In addition, its three technical committees, on Cross Border Taxation, VAT and Exchange of Information, endeavour to keep abreast of salient developments on tax matters within their areas of competency and play an important advisory and supportive role to the Secretariat and the ATAF membership. 

ATAF published the fourth edition of the African Tax Outlook, its flagship publication on taxation on the continent. The 2019 publication features data from 34 countries and offers a valuable source of data to tax administrations, researchers and policymakers. For the first time, accompanying the publication are three research papers. These papers provide deeper insights into good practices and success stories in African tax administrations, VAT revenue performance in selected ATO countries and offer an in-depth analysis of revenue collection in West Africa. 

ATAF’s 10th anniversary celebrations were a highlight of the year. It is important for us to celebrate the success of our organisation and reflect on the journey of the past ten years. Between 2009 and 2019, ATAF has provided training to nearly 17 000 tax officials. Our technical assistance programmes, which were introduced five years ago, have resulted in revised legislation, improved business processes and enhanced audit skills in more than two dozen member countries. The impact on revenue collection can be concretely quantified: the cumulative total for assessments raised over the five years is 1. 086 billion US dollars, with 272.41 million dollars having been collected. That is revenue that otherwise would have been more than likely foregone by our members. 

While we must acknowledge that great strides have been made in many areas, the main challenges remain the same. Illicit Financial Flows and base erosion and profit shifting practices remain a threat to African tax bases. The tax-to-GDP ratio for African countries remains well below that of the other regions of the world. Progress still needs to be made on the Exchange of Information, treaty negotiations and the use of mutual assistance procedures to curb non-compliance, amongst others.

I would like to thank the ATAF Council and the members of its three committees for their support, strategic inputs and oversight in the past year. ATAF would also like to express its appreciation to Mr Tunde Fowler for the contribution he made as the Chairman of the ATAF Council from 2016 to 2019. 

ATAF continues to benefit from the generous support of its development partners. Donors who contribute to a pooled fund and those who support specific programmes not only provide much of the funding required to execute the ATAF Workplan, they also provide technical assistance and a wealth of experience and ideas that ATAF can draw on. We are immensely grateful for their unstinting support throughout ATAF’s first decade. 

A special thank you must go to our host country South Africa for their invaluable contribution since ATAF’s inception. The financial, logistical, operational and human resource support provided by the South African Revenue Service has been the bedrock for ATAF’s success, particularly in the first five years of its existence. In addition to membership fees, South Africa continued to provide financial and in-kind support to ATAF in 2019. 

ATAF remains firmly committed to its primary mandate of building effective and efficient tax administrations on the continent, recognising that this is a critical element in boosting revenue mobilisation and building a capable state that is able to meet the needs of its citizens.