WATAF TAX FOCUS

About WATAF

WATAF was established through an adoption of the Agreement by the General Assembly of member states to contribute to the efficacy of tax administration and improved public service delivery in support of the development of countries in West Africa. Its inaugural meeting was held in Abuja, Nigeria, on September 12, 2011. All fifteen (15) countries of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) are members of WATAF.

Article 10 of the WATAF Agreement establishes the General Assembly, Council and Secretariat as its key organs. The General Assembly is the highest decision-making body of WATAF and consists of all heads of tax administrations of member states or their authorised representatives. A Council of six (6) members is elected by the General Assembly to convene meetings of the General Assembly, prepare and submit strategic plans and annual work plans of WATAF to the General Assembly, and have an oversight of the Secretariat. The Secretariat is headed by an Executive Secretary who reports to the Chairperson of the Council. The Secretariat is responsible for the day-to-day administration of WATAF and for reporting on those operations to the Council on a regular basis.

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We are proud to announce the publication of the West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF) first-ever quarterly newsletter – Tax Focus West Africa! This maiden edition will focus on the achievements of WATAF over the years and the activities of the Secretariat for the first half of the year. We hope you enjoy this new way to keep you informed of exciting news about tax administration, latest tax research across the West African region, current tax related developments among member countries as well as the activities of the WATAF Secretariat.

Major achievements over the years:

Amongst other achievements, WATAF has successfully organised over 30 capacity building events and trained over 1,100 staff of member tax administrations on varied subjects. We commenced an impactful annual High-Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD) series that has become a flagship event, now in its 4th year. Read the Outcome statement from the HLPDs.

WATAF has built a reputation as a regional force in taxation matters through establishing partnerships and Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs), where applicable, with other international organisations such as Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), ECOWAS Parliament,  International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD), Network of Tax Organisation (NTO), Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), South Centre, Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB), United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), World Bank etc. View the 10 years’ documentary of WATAF

Activities carried out for the first half of 2022:

Country Correspondents Conference: WATAF organised a virtual 2nd Country Correspondents Conference titled “Rethinking the Role of Tax Administration in Domestic Revenue Mobilisation (DRM): Post COVID-19”, on 2 February, 2022. Read more…