Decisions being made now will shape taxing rights for generations
In Banjul last week, the leader of the African Tax Administration Forum placed a quiet but consequential argument before the continent's financial stewards: that the path to sovereign development runs not through borrowed capital, but through the disciplined cultivation of domestic revenue. Mary Baine's message, backed by over six billion dollars in tax assessments since 2016, reflects a deeper truth about nationhood — that a government's capacity to serve its people is inseparable from its capacity to fund itself. The choices being made now about digital taxation and international cooperation, she warned, will echo across generations.
- African governments remain dangerously dependent on external debt and aid, leaving public finances vulnerable to shocks they cannot control.
- ATAF's decade of work has turned abstract tax reform into nearly three billion dollars of real collections — money that can build schools and repair roads today.
- A homegrown digital platform for cross-border tax information sharing is already closing the gaps through which illicit capital quietly drains from the continent.
- The RADA initiative sets an ambitious target: double ATAF's development impact by 2030, with African governments urged to engage UN tax negotiations as a matter of strategic urgency.
- Decisions on taxing the digital economy are being made now — and without African voices at the table, the continent risks surrendering taxing rights it may never reclaim.
Mary Baine, Executive Secretary of the African Tax Administration Forum, addressed finance ministers and central bank governors in Banjul last week with a message both familiar and urgent: African governments must treat tax collection as a core pillar of governance, not an afterthought to debt management and trade policy.
The numbers she brought with her were striking. Since 2016, ATAF's work strengthening tax systems across the continent has contributed to more than six billion dollars in additional tax assessments, with nearly three billion dollars reaching government treasuries. In the past year alone, ATAF-supported interventions generated close to 908 million dollars in new assessments and 686 million in collections — real revenue available for schools, roads, and public services.
Baine's central argument was structural: governments that collect their own revenue gain stability, predictability, and independence. Those reliant on external loans or aid live with constant uncertainty. She urged leaders to audit their tax codes, eliminate unproductive exemptions, expand formal financial inclusion, and ensure that tax agencies and central banks share information effectively.
A concrete example of this vision already exists. A partnership between ATAF, the Zambia Revenue Authority, and the World Bank produced the African Automatic Exchange of Information — a digital platform designed by Africans, for African tax administrations, enabling secure and affordable cross-border tax transparency. The system directly targets illicit financial flows and profit-shifting to tax havens.
Looking ahead, Baine introduced RADA — Revenue Action for Development in Africa — with a goal of doubling ATAF's impact by 2030. She called on African nations to engage seriously in UN negotiations on international tax cooperation, warning that decisions being made now about digital economy taxation will define the continent's taxing rights for generations. The window to shape those decisions, she implied, will not stay open indefinitely.
Mary Baine, who leads the African Tax Administration Forum, stood before finance ministers and central bank governors gathered in Banjul last week with a straightforward message: African governments need to treat tax collection with the same seriousness they give to managing debt, managing trade, and managing money supply. The argument is not new, but the numbers behind it are striking.
Since 2016, ATAF's work helping African countries strengthen their tax systems has contributed to more than six billion dollars in additional tax assessments across the continent. Of that, nearly three billion dollars actually made it into government coffers. Last year alone, the organization's interventions generated almost 908 million dollars in new tax assessments, with nearly 686 million collected. These are not theoretical gains. They are real money that African governments can use to build schools, repair roads, and pay for the services their citizens need.
Baine's core argument rests on a simple observation: when African countries collect more of their own revenue, they become less dependent on borrowed money, their public finances grow more stable, and their development spending becomes more predictable. That stability matters. A government that knows it will collect a certain amount of tax revenue next year can plan accordingly. A government that relies on external loans or aid lives with constant uncertainty. She urged governments to examine their tax codes carefully, to cut away exemptions and incentives that cost money without delivering results, to bring more people into the formal financial system, and to make sure their tax agencies and central banks actually talk to each other.
One concrete example of this work involves a partnership between ATAF, the Zambia Revenue Authority, and the World Bank to build a digital platform for sharing tax information across African countries. The system, called the African Automatic Exchange of Information, was designed by Africans for African tax administrations. It gives countries a secure, affordable way to implement international standards for tax transparency without having to rely on expensive foreign systems. The platform addresses a real problem: illicit money flowing out of Africa, profits being shifted to tax havens, revenue that should belong to African governments disappearing instead.
Baine also pointed toward the next phase of this work. ATAF has launched an initiative called Revenue Action for Development in Africa, or RADA, with an explicit goal: double the impact of ATAF's supported interventions by 2030. The initiative was endorsed at an international conference on development financing, and Baine called on African countries to engage seriously in ongoing United Nations negotiations about international tax cooperation. The stakes, she suggested, are generational. Decisions being made right now about how to tax digital services and the digital economy will determine what taxing rights African countries have for decades to come. If those decisions are made without African voices at the table, the continent risks losing revenue it will never recover.
Notable Quotes
Domestic revenue mobilization should receive the same strategic attention as debt management, trade and monetary stability— Mary Baine, Executive Secretary of the African Tax Administration Forum
Stronger domestic revenue systems would help make debt more sustainable, public finances more resilient and development financing more predictable for African countries— Mary Baine
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does domestic revenue matter so much more than aid or loans?
Because when you collect your own money, you control your own future. Aid comes with conditions. Loans come with interest and repayment schedules. Tax revenue is yours to spend as you decide.
But many African countries struggle to collect taxes. Why is that?
Partly because the tax systems themselves are weak—outdated laws, understaffed agencies, corruption. But also because much economic activity happens outside the formal system, and because wealthy individuals and corporations have learned how to move profits across borders to avoid paying anything at all.
So ATAF is trying to fix both problems at once?
Exactly. They help countries modernize their tax administrations and build the capacity to actually collect what's owed. But they also work on the international side—making sure that when a multinational company operates in Africa, it can't just shift its profits to a tax haven and pay nothing.
The platform they built—the AEOI system—how does that change things?
It lets African tax authorities share information with each other securely. If a company is hiding money in one country but has operations in another, the authorities can now see the full picture. It's designed by Africans, so it's affordable and it actually fits how African tax systems work.
And RADA—the new initiative—what's the realistic chance it actually doubles the impact?
That depends on whether African governments actually commit resources to it and whether the international negotiations go in Africa's favor. The numbers so far suggest the work is real and measurable. But doubling it requires both political will and a seat at the table when the rules get written.