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Africa Moyo, Deputy News Editor
ENDORSING the Yaoundé Declaration presents Zimbabwe with an opportunity to enhance its economic governance, enhance tax revenues and foster regional co-operation, which are vital for the achievement of sustainable development goals, particularly through domestic revenue mobilisation, Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube, said yesterday.
Zimbabwe endorsed the Yaoundé Declaration earlier this week.
Initially signed by four African nations in November 2017, the Yaoundé Declaration calls for the African Union to engage in high-level discussions regarding tax cooperation, the fight against illicit financial flows, and their correlation with domestic resource mobilisation.
With Zimbabwe’s backing, 34 African Finance Ministers and the African Union Commission now support the declaration nearly nine years later.
In an interview, Prof Ncube said the Yaoundé Declaration is a significant African initiative aimed at enhancing transparency and cooperation in tax matters among participating countries.
He emphasised the importance of the initiative in promoting transparency in tax matters and exchange of taxpayer information or transactions, subject to legislated guidelines governing taxpayer confidentiality.
“The collaborated exchange of information among tax jurisdictions is in view of increasing incidences of tax evasion and avoidance, which has been exacerbated by the sophisticated nature of cross-border transactions, where incomes are concealed by taxpayers, resulting in over or undervaluation of both exports and imports, manipulation of transfer prices, smuggling, failure to pay appropriate taxes and/or manipulating tax systems, thereby undermining domestic resource mobilisation efforts.
“The Yaoundé Declaration is, thus, a testimony of political commitment and willingness to fight illicit financial flows, where political players should lead the fight against such practices which have undermined domestic resource mobilisation and economic development.
“The initiative will, thus, benefit the Republic of Zimbabwe through combating illicit financial flows, enhancing tax revenue, fostering and attracting investments through the collaborative efforts by participating tax jurisdictions.
“Exchange of information is also key in enhancing collection of revenue from revenue concealed in sophisticated exchange of goods, services, and income, due to lack of international cooperation in exchange of information?”
Launched in 2014, the Africa Initiative strives to unlock the potential of tax transparency and information exchange across the continent.
This initiative has witnessed substantial engagement at the ministerial level to secure political commitment and maintain momentum, reflected in the growing support for the Yaoundé Declaration.
The aim is for African countries to take ownership of the tax transparency agenda and promote it to serve the continent’s interests effectively.
In alignment with these efforts, the annual Tax Transparency in Africa report details progress made while highlighting ongoing challenges in the realm of tax transparency.
The Global Forum stands as the primary multilateral body responsible for ensuring that jurisdictions worldwide adhere to, and effectively implement, standards concerning transparency and information exchange.
Moreover, the Global Forum undertakes a comprehensive monitoring and peer review process to ensure compliance and develop capacity-building programmes.
These initiatives support member countries in effectively implementing the established standards and assist tax authorities in optimising the use of cross-border information sharing channels.
Collectively, these efforts aim to empower African nations to lead their tax transparency agendas, aligning them with broader continental goals for economic development and integrity.
Online Reporter