TaxJusticeAfrica

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Rwanda: Tax Issues Forum Established

26th August 2008 (Allafrica.com)
In bid to facilitate trade and promote business growth in Rwanda, Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) and the Private Sector Federation have established a tax issues forum (TIF). The forum to discuss tax concerns comes after PSF raised concerns that RRA was partly to blame for the low tax compliance levels in the country.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Nigeria: 'Multiple Taxation, Bane of Nigeria's Tax System'

24th August 2008 (Allafrica.com)
Chairman, Technical Committee on National Tax Policy (TCNTP), Mrs. Ifeko Omogui-Okauru has said multiple taxation is the bane of Nigeria's tax system.

Uganda: Investors Slam New Hotel Tax

24th August 2008 ( New Vision)
HOTEL investors have asked the Government to immediately suspend the local service tax to save them from "double taxation".

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Mozambique: Tax Revenue to Fill Any Gap Caused By Swedish Aid Reduction

Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (Maputo)
19 August 2008
Mozambique's Planning and Development Minister, Aiuba Cuereneia, said on Monday that the government will use domestic revenue to cover the reduction in support for the state budget from Sweden, one of the country's main donors.

ABOUT TAX JUSTICE

Increasing foreign aid to Africa is often viewed as the panacea to address the poverty facing the continent. While the role played by international aid can not ignored there is an important element which is often ignored in this debate: the issue of the massive resource outflow from the continent.

The African Union estimates that up to US$ 148 billion is taken out of the continent annually because of corruption. These amounts exceed the current aid flow by a significant margin. It is indeed estimated that for every dollar that flows into the continent in terms of foreign aid and loans, there are 8 dollars flowing out through corrupt practices.

Issues around the massive resource outflow and its effects on the fledging economies of Africa have not been accorded due attention. The illicit capital flight and associated tax evasion , tax competition, transfer mis-pricing, revenue losses due to import tariff reduction brought by market liberalization, and other related aggressive tax avoidance malpractices by both MNCs and other rich elites in Africa have all significantly led to accelerated capital flows out of Africa.

The debate on economic development of the continent and the reduction of poverty would be missing a very important component if factors that encourage resource outflow, hamper domestic resource mobilization and encourage reliance on external financing for development are not addressed. There is need to raise the awareness among different actors of the impact these outflows have in hampering economic growth in Africa.