Africa Tax Symposium ends in Accra

The Africa Tax Symposium held over three days in Accra, Ghana, ended today, May 12, 2017. The Symposium, organized by the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD) brought together experts, specialists, practitioners, taxpayers and civil society organisations from around the world to deliberate on tax regimes in Africa and around the world, and to look at the way forward.

The third edition of the Symposium under the theme – Trends in International Taxation – An African Perspective, discussed the following topics – Convergence of International Tax Best Practices – Issues and Prospects, Global Tax Transparency Initiatives and their impact on Africa, Recent International Tax Developments, Post-BEPS International Tax Planning – Problems and Prospects for Africa.

Other topics were Legislating against Tax Havens and Non-Cooperative Jurisdictions – A Global Survey, The Multilateral Instrument and Africa’s Tax Treaties, among others.

Some of the issues were agreeable, but others were contentious, among them the issue of tax treaties.

Some of the speakers include Savior Mwambwa, Roy Rohatgi, Rajesh Ramloll, Philip Mensah, Pramod Kumar, Paul Boadu Asamoah, Victor van Krommer, Theophilus Emuwa and Amar Mehta.

The others are Prof. Annet Wanyana Oguttu, Barrassou Diawara, Charles Makola, David Bakibinga and Daniel Ngum, among others.

IBDF, established in 1938 and based in Amsterdam in the Netherlands is an international provider of cross-border tax expertise, “with an established history in supporting and contributing to tax research and academic activities,” it says.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi