Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development
Fiscal policy, trade and the private sector in the digital era: a strategy for Africa
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2019 TO TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019
Edmund Valpy Fitzgerald will partcipate to the
Side event on “Leading or following? Shaping tax reform in Africa”
Jointly organized by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation and South Centre
Orangeraie Room, Palmeraie Golf Palace, Marrakech, Morocco • 24 March 2019, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Illicit financial flows strip resources from Africa that could be used to finance much-needed public services and weaken its financial systems and economic potential. African Governments are also compelled also to compete against each other in attracting corporate investment, by lowering corporate tax rates or offering wasteful incentives.
Retaining and taxing resources could contribute towards reducing income inequality, strengthening human rights, and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The global tax agenda has made significant progress; more reforms have been launched in the past four years than over the last century, but the current international tax rules and architecture remain inadequate and exclude developing countries from shaping norms that affect them directly.
Objectives
The objective of this session is to review progress that has been made in tackling international financing facilities set up by multinationals and look at alternative solutions that go beyond the global tax reforms now being discussed. The event will provide evidence- based information to policymakers and other stakeholders on the various alternatives to improving and reforming the taxation system and include a discussion on how to address the main challenges to strengthening cooperation at the global, regional and subregional levels, to reach consensus on alternative and more effective solutions.