KAMPALA, May 23, 2026 — The African Tax Administration Forum [ ATAF ] has released its 2025 Annual Report, highlighting its expanding role in strengthening tax systems, advancing domestic revenue mobilisation, and amplifying Africa’s voice in global tax policy discussions.
The report outlines a year of significant progress across ATAF’s strategic priorities, including capacity building, technical assistance, research, digital transformation, international tax cooperation, and institutional strengthening.
In 2025, ATAF-supported audit interventions across member countries generated US$ 907.8 million in tax assessments, of which US$ 685.8 million was collected.
Throughout the year, ATAF provided technical assistance to 35 countries, trained 2,433 tax officials from 43 countries, and supported legislative and administrative reforms across the continent.
The report also highlights ATAF’s growing influence in shaping global tax discourse, particularly through engagements with the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, as well as wider discussions on illicit financial flows, digital taxation, and tax transparency.
Speaking at the launch of the report, ATAF Executive Secretary Mary Baine said the findings underscored the increasing importance of domestic resource mobilisation [DRM] in Africa’s development agenda.
“Domestic resource mobilisation is no longer optional for Africa; it is the foundation for sustainable development, economic resilience and fiscal sovereignty,” Baine said.
“As external financing declines and fiscal pressures intensify, African countries must strengthen tax systems, modernise revenue administration, and build fiscally resourced states that can finance development with integrity, effectiveness and measurable results.”
She added that ATAF remained committed to working with member states and partners to support reforms that deliver tangible improvements in citizens’ lives.
Several revenue officials across the continent also credited ATAF’s programmes with improving tax administration and revenue performance in their respective countries.
Yankuba Darboe, Commissioner General of the Gambia Revenue Authority, said ATAF’s training programmes had strengthened audit capacity and improved professional standards.
“The Gambia Revenue Authority is highly satisfied with ATAF’s training programmes,” he said. “Training never ends, particularly in a self-assessment environment where taxpayers increasingly rely on highly qualified advisors. The three-phased approach to tax audit — basic, intermediate and advanced — delivered by African experts who understand our context has been especially valuable. The knowledge acquired has been directly applied to strengthen our audit practices and improve revenue performance.”
Botswana Unified Revenue Service Revenue Manager for Rulings and Directives, Itumeleng Kgosietsile, said ATAF technical assistance had supported legislative reform.
“ATAF’s technical assistance was instrumental in helping Botswana amend its VAT legislation to effectively tax remote services,” he said. “Through the VAT Toolkit, targeted capacity-building sessions and a combination of in-person and virtual engagements, our team was able to translate complex policy guidance into actionable reforms.”
He added that benchmarking exchanges with Rwanda and Tanzania informed Botswana’s decision to update its legal framework to support the introduction of an electronic invoicing system, scheduled for implementation in 2026.
South Sudan Revenue Authority Commissioner for Domestic Taxes Paul Chol Kur said ATAF’s support was tailored to local contexts.
“ATAF’s technical assistance is highly applicable because it provides African solutions to African challenges. What has worked in Uganda or Kenya can be adapted to work for the South Sudan Revenue Authority, as the support is customised to our specific needs,” he said.
In Ghana, Head of Excise Compliance at the Ghana Revenue Authority, Nelson Bright Atsu, said ATAF training had influenced policy and enforcement approaches.
“Following ATAF training on tobacco and excise taxation, I recommended an annual increase in tobacco excise rates to strengthen revenue mobilisation and reduce consumption. We are also enforcing track-and-trace verification of tax stamps on all tobacco imports and increasing monitoring of electronic cigarettes,” he said.
Uganda Revenue Authority official Samalie Namitala said ATAF training materials had been widely disseminated within the authority.
“Using the training materials, we have trained over 500 new officers on digital tax stamps. The examples shared helped deepen our understanding of excise technologies and how to apply them correctly to improve excise duty collection,” she said.
Rwanda Revenue Authority’s Solange M. Iraturora noted that excise tax reforms had followed ATAF recommendations.
“The excise tax was amended on 29 July 2025 in Rwanda in line with ATAF’s recommendations during the Tobacco and Excise Tax Training,” she said.
ATAF offers tax expertise and support to its member countries in the form of training, short courses, technical assistance, country programmes and rapid response initiatives. Our numerous policy briefs, suggested approaches and publications provide evidence-based tax data and statistics which are invaluable to tax administrations.
https://thecooperator.news/ura-boss-urges-africa-to-adopt-technology-in-combating-tax-evasion/
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