Online Reporter
Prosper Ndlovu [email protected]
THE future of global tax cooperation and what it means for Africa will be under spotlight this Friday when key regional and international stakeholders meet in Pretoria, South Africa, to deliberate on the new global taxation framework.
Hosted by the African Tax Research Network (ATRN), an initiative of the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), in partnership with the African Tax Institute (ATI) and the University of Pretoria, the event is expected to provide a timely opportunity to hear directly from the official overseeing negotiations that could reshape the future of international tax rules and global tax governance.
Egypt’s Deputy Minister of Finance, who is also chairperson of the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee, Mr Ramy Mohamed Youssef, would lead the negotiations on the proposed United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, shedding light on what it means for Africa.
As countries negotiate new international frameworks for tax cooperation, issues such as the taxation of multinational enterprises, digital services, cross-border economic activity, exchange of information, tax disputes, and domestic resource mobilisation are increasingly at the centre of global policy discussions.
African countries have played a leading role in advancing the UN process, making the negotiations particularly significant for the continent.
According to organisers, Mr Youssef will provide first-hand insights into the progress of the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation negotiations, key issues currently under discussion, the negotiation process and the road ahead, the potential implications of the Convention for African countries and the global tax system.
He will be joined by distinguished discussants, including Ms Mary Baine, ATAF executive secretary, leading one of Africa’s foremost organisations supporting tax policy, tax administration reform, and domestic revenue mobilisation across its 45 African member countries.
Professor Annet Oguttu, chair of the ATRN advisory board and director of the African Tax Institute at the University of Pretoria, a leading authority on international tax law and African tax policy.
The discussion comes at a critical moment as countries move from procedural discussions to substantive negotiations on the Convention, with growing attention on how international tax rules can better support sustainable development and domestic resource mobilisation.
The event forms part of broader efforts to strengthen evidence-based dialogue on contemporary taxation issues affecting Africa and the global economy.
