WATAF’s 5th High Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD) 2023

As part of its mandate, WATAF is organising the fifth edition of its annual High-Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD), with the theme Enhancing Tax Transparency and Cooperation in West Africa, on September 20 – 22, 2023, in Cabo Verde, and participation is open to Board Members and Officials of Tax Administrations and Supervisory Ministries, Academia/Research Institutes, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Parliamentarians, the ECOWAS Commission, Development Partners/Donor Agencies, Tax Intermediaries/Consultants, Financial Institutions, International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs), Corporate Organisations, and other stakeholders.

Since its advent, the WATAF HLPD has become a platform for sharing ideas and practices, towards formulating sound policy frameworks for West Africa. This year’s Dialogue shall   examine the importance of tax transparency and cooperation in the fight against tax evasion and avoidance, illicit financial flows, and other financial irregularities.

Globally, the past decades have witnessed unprecedented liberalisation and globalisation of national economies. An increasing number of countries have removed or reduced controls on foreign investment, and relaxed or eliminated foreign exchange controls. Taxpayers operate globally, even though revenue administrations remain confined to their respective jurisdictions. Today, people can invest money overseas at the click of a button. Many have used the opportunities of opaque offshore structures and bank secrecy to keep those investments hidden and pay no tax at home, where it is due. Developing countries have suffered the most, billions of dollars of wealth from the developing world end up in developed countries and financial centres. It is also well known that most of these funds are the proceeds of illegal activities, corruption, tax evasion, and other forms of serious crimes.

Consequent to the above, there was an urgent need for collaboration by national governments in exchange for financial and tax-related information across national boundaries. This has led to the emergence of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, with a membership of over 167 nations. The Global Forum is set to achieve tax fairness, ensure countries collect much-needed revenue, monitor and peer review the implementation of international standards for exchange of information on request (EOIR), and automatic exchange of information. While the Global Forum is ardently promoting EOI across the world in an effort to ensure greater transparency and ultimately increase the tax revenues of member nations, it is crucial to have a deeper discourse about EOI within West Africa.

On the other hand, International tax cooperation fosters the participation of all relevant parties, including representatives of national tax authorities in developing countries, to facilitate an inclusive and broad-based discourse on tax matters. It also provides opportunities to discuss critical issues that affect developing countries and promote coordinated worldwide norms to stop Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) and guarantee that businesses and individuals pay taxes in the countries where they generate their income.

Therefore, the belief is that if tax transparency and cooperation are rigorously pursued by member nations in Africa, it will not only increase tax revenue but also combat tax evasion and illicit financial flows, in addition to enhancing tax-related collaboration in the sub-region.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

Essentially, the desired outcomes of the HLPD on Enhancing Tax Transparency and Cooperation in Africa include the following:

1.   Developing a proper understanding and application of the workings of the Exchange of Information Standards;

2.   Appreciation of the relationship between cross-country tax information and revenue mobilisation;

3.   Understanding the administrative requirements for tackling base erosion and profit shifting;

4.   Promotion of effective collaborations among tax jurisdictions in Africa;

5.   Appreciating the urgent need for collaboration through the Exchange of Information within Africa;

6.   Fostering the utilisation of global multilateral cooperation mechanisms among countries in Africa.