African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF)

The 9th Joint Technical Committee (JTC) on IFFs in Pretoria has placed treaty policy at the centre of the conversation. Following two days of work by the Cross-Border Taxation (CBT) Technical Committee on the revisions to ATAF’s Model DTA, the ATAF Tax Treaty Negotiation Manual and Policy Guide on Treaty Benefits; The CBT has now sought validation of these policy tools from the ATAF JTC. This ATAF treaty framework is designed to help member states negotiate stronger treaties and secure fair outcomes in retention of source taxing rights in developing countries.

This work comes at a critical time. In April 2026, ATAF convened experts from across the continent to validate the revised Model Double Taxation Agreement, responding to long-standing challenges facing many African countries: outdated treaty provisions that constrain taxing rights, create openings for treaty shopping, and do not reflect a rapidly digitalising global economy.

The revised Model together with the negotiation manual and policy tools on treaty benefits, are expected to support coordinated African positions, stronger national treaty frameworks, and ultimately more effective domestic resource mobilisation across the continent.

Opening the 9th Joint Technical Committee (JTC) on IFFs in Pretoria, South Africa, our Head of Domestic Resource Mobilisation, Mr Antony Munanda, called on Committee members to develop high quality, practical, relevant, and implementable solutions that directly support African countries in strengthening tax policy and combating illicit financial flows.

Mr Munanda emphasised that ATAF’s strength lies in its ability to work with members to develop relevant African solutions to African challenges. Referencing ATAF’s recent workshop to validate the revised ATAF Model Double Taxation Agreement, he noted that the initiative responds to a long-standing challenge facing many African countries: outdated treaty provisions that limit taxing rights, creating opportunities for treaty shopping and failing to reflect the realities of a rapidly digitalising global economy.

He also highlighted ATAF’s recently published Guide to Implementing an Effective High-Net-Worth Individual Taxation Regime in Africa as part of ATAF’s broader efforts to accelerate practical policy support for members.

“Why does this matter? The end game is not just the products,” he said. “What we are discussing here should ultimately flow to members through implementation programmes.”
Mr Munanda further noted that tax expenditure remains a major challenge across the continent and stressed the important role of the JTC in shaping policy guidance that helps countries address these gaps more effectively.

Our Technical Committee meetings continue this week in Pretoria, with African tax experts discussing practical solutions to strengthen tax administration and cooperation across the continent.
Under the Exchange of Information Technical Committee today, discussions focused on beneficial ownership transparency and the critical role Company Registrars play in strengthening effective Exchange of Information systems.

As African countries intensify efforts to combat illicit financial flows and cross-border tax evasion, members explored practical ways to improve the availability and accuracy of beneficial ownership information, strengthen enforcement mechanisms, and support more transparent and accountable tax systems. Discussions also highlighted the digitalisation challenge and the importance of stronger integration between tax administrations and company registries to ensure beneficial ownership information is accurate, accessible, and effectively shared for Exchange of Information purposes.

Aujourd’hui marque une étape importante pour la coopération fiscale africaine : La République du Congo rejoint officiellement l’ATAF en tant que 45e membre de l’organisation.

Cette adhésion reflète un engagement commun en faveur d’administrations fiscales plus fortes, plus modernes et plus résilientes à travers le continent, ainsi qu’une volonté collective de renforcer la mobilisation des ressources internes en Afrique.

Nous nous réjouissons de travailler aux côtés de la République du Congo pour promouvoir le partage d’expertise africaine, la coopération fiscale et des solutions adaptées aux réalités du continent.

Lisez le communiqué de presse içi : https://bit.ly/4uFDAGs

During the Exchange of Information Technical Committee meeting today in Pretoria, we showcased progress on the development of the ATAF Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) IT System, jointly developed with the Zambia Revenue Authority and the World Bank Group.

Built by and for African tax administrations, the system is designed to support the reciprocal exchange of Common Reporting Standard (CRS), FATCA, Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), and Country-by-Country Reporting (CbCR) data in compliance with CTS 3.0 standards.

The platform includes capabilities for financial institutions onboarding, automated validation, compliance monitoring, country report preparation, secure OECD CTS transmission, and real-time reporting dashboards — helping administrations strengthen tax transparency, improve compliance oversight, and make effective use of exchanged data.

The next phase of the initiative will move into piloting with a tax administration, marking a significant step towards operationalising an Africa-led AEOI solution tailored to the realities and needs of ATAF member countries.

We are grateful to Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), Mauritius Revenue Authority, and Nigeria Revenue Service - NRS for the technical guidance and support throughout the journey

ATAF’s Technical Committee Meetings kick off today in Pretoria, bringing together over 60 experts from 15 countries to help shape practical tax solutions for Africa.

The meetings bring together our five technical committees covering direct tax, indirect tax, tax administration, cross-border taxation, and exchange of information — all working to develop practical toolkits, guidelines, and technical solutions that strengthen compliance, improve transparency, and support domestic revenue mobilisation across the continent.

The work of ATAF’s Direct Tax Technical Committee (DTC) is already translating into real impact across member countries.

Gathering this week in Pretoria as part of our Technical Committee meetings, the DTC is discussing key issues shaping Africa’s tax landscape — from the digital economy and tax incentives to gaming and betting, taxation of NGOs and rental income taxation.
One of its first major products, the ATAF Guide on Effective Taxation of High-Net-Worth Individuals in Africa, is already supporting reforms in ATAF member countries.

Lesotho became the first country to begin implementation, with ATAF supporting the development of a draft HNWI compliance framework, implementation roadmap, and strategies to strengthen compliance and domestic revenue mobilisation.

Illicit financial flows continue to cost Africa billions of dollars annually, undermining domestic resource mobilisation, weakening governance systems, and limiting governments’ ability to finance infrastructure, healthcare, education, and economic development priorities.

To strengthen Africa-led responses to this challenge, one of our members Zambia has successfully launched the Anti-IFFs Policy Tracker.

The pilot marks an important step in advancing coordinated continental efforts to combat illicit financial flows. Zambia now joins Namibia, Uganda, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Liberia in implementing the Policy Tracker.

Speaking on behalf of ATAF Executive Secretary, Ms Mary Baine, ATAF Senior Advisor on Tax Policy, Emmanuel Eze, said: “The fight against illicit financial flows is not merely about tracking risks, it is about protecting Africa’s future, ensuring that Africa’s wealth works for its people, and building the fiscal space needed for sustainable development through evidence-based reforms and initiatives.”

The tracker is expected to help ATAF member states identify policy gaps, strengthen institutional coordination, and improve implementation in addressing illicit financial flows.

How can African revenue authorities work more closely to address tax evasion, illicit financial flows, revenue leakages, and the taxation of hard-to-tax sectors?

These are some of the issues being discussed this week at the 101st Meeting of the East Africa Revenue Authorities Technical Committee (EARATC), hosted by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), where Mr Linstrom Marangu, ATAF’s Health Tax Expert, is participating alongside tax experts from across the East African Community (EAC).

During the meeting, we are providing technical support as part of broader support to Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and African countries working to strengthen coordinated responses to shared tax challenges.

EARATC’s mandate includes harmonising tax procedures, customs laws, and domestic tax policies to support regional integration, while also developing joint approaches to strengthen compliance, drive technology reforms, and improve domestic revenue mobilisation across the region.