Unveiling Africa’s tax future: ATAF’s new Domestic Revenue Mobilisation Project
At its core, the DRM project is envisioned as a comprehensive reference manual targeted primarily at tax administrations, tax policy decision- makers, tax practitioners, and businesses.
FILE IMAGE: Kazungula Bridge in Zambia.
The African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) has embarked on a ground breaking initiative in partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB) called the Domestic Revenue Mobilisation (DRM) project. This ambitious undertaking aims to conduct both regional and country-specific studies, with a particular focus on Central Africa. Leveraging the ATAF African Tax Outlook (ATO) indicators, the DRM project seeks to assess tax-premium sectors, providing invaluable insights into taxation that will serve as a vital resource for Central African countries. At its core, the DRM project is envisioned as a comprehensive reference manual targeted primarily at tax administrations, tax policy decision- makers, tax practitioners, and businesses.
It will analyse trends in macroeconomic and tax administration data, evaluating revenue collection performance and the efficacy of specific tax functions in seven Central African nations, namely Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of Congo, and Chad.
To kick off the project, scoping missions were planned for four countries not yet participating in the ATO initiative. These missions aimed to assess the tax landscape and gather essential data for the DRM study.
However, due to delays and non-responsiveness from some countries, only two missions have been conducted thus far. These missions involved intensive consultations with the Direction Générale des Impôts of the Republic of Congo and virtual discussions with the Direction Générale des Impôts of the Republic of Chad.
During these engagements, several areas for improvement within the tax administrations of the participating countries were identified. These include limited data analytics capacity, a scarcity of third-party data, audits on VAT collectors, tax legislation and litigation, and the expansion of the tax base. To address these issues, various documents were requested from the administrations, including audit plans, tax reform initiatives, revenue analysis notes from the past five to six years, legal framework directives, and risk indicators for selecting audit cases.
Frankie Mbuyamba, manager: regionalisation and project coordinator, emphasized the significance of this initiative, particularly for Central African countries. “The DRM project marks a significant step forward in enhancing domestic revenue mobilisation efforts in Central Africa,” Mbuyamba stated. “By providing comprehensive insights and recommendations, it aims to support member countries in strengthening their tax systems and ultimately contributing to their economic development and sustainability.”
As the project progresses, ATAF remains committed to collaborating with its partners to ensure its success and impact across the region.
