Washington, DC – Regional fiscal officials, leading academic specialists and private-sector representatives from 18 countries convened this week in Cape Town, South Africa, for the eighth Africa Tax Dialogue to discuss the balance between domestic revenue mobilization and enhancing the investment climate. The meeting, hosted by the International Tax and Investment Center, in cooperation with The Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, featured discussions on corporate taxation; mining, oil and gas, and carbon taxation; assessment of the Davis Tax Reform Committee reports; developments in VAT; and e-commerce taxation.
His Excellency Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), presented the meeting’s opening address, “The Role of Business Investment to Deliver on the Post-2015 Development Agenda,” in which he remarked that “smart tax reform is critical to mobilizing resources for the 2030 agenda.”
The meeting also featured keynote remarks from The Honorable Kipyego Cheluget, Assistant Secretary General (Programmes), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA); Mr. Duncan Onduru, Executive Director, Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA); and The Honorable Judge Dennis Davis, Chair of the Davis Tax Committee. Commenting on the high-level participation in this year’s meeting, ITIC President Daniel Witt noted, “This reinforces that taxation, and especially tax administration, has taken on a new level of attention as a key instrument in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Investment and tax are key drivers of inclusive growth and poverty reduction.”
The Africa Tax Dialogue is an annual conference organized by ITIC to bring together regional government officials, academic experts and investors to discuss tax coordination within regional economic communities in Africa.