Reflections on ATAF’s first Decade Richard Parry

1. Reflections on ATAF’s first Decade Richard Parry

3. INCLUSIVITYAND IDENTITY • ATAF’s continental identity – multiregional and multilingual • ‘Don’t waste the crisis’: ATAF’s launch and consolidation • A mature ATAF: strong tax policy, efficient administration, sustainable economies • Challenges for the new decade • Representation and the AU • Inclusivity and other African organisations • Developing ATAF’s ‘foreign policy’ • Building membership: ‘Why would you NOT want to join ATAF?’ • Dealing with diversity – a representative Secretariat

4. LISTENING TO MEMBERS’ VOICES • ATAF’S independence at the heart of its success • Strengthening our members’ voices • Expanding membership • A new Members’ Charter • Building structures to meet the next decade • Ministerial structures connecting policy and administration. The future of ‘nexus’ work • Strengthening engagement of members through Council • Member involvement in sub-committees • Building an Ambassadorial Team • A flexible framework for staffing

5. RESOURCING: THE NEXT DECADE • Demand for services increasingly likely to outstrip supply • ATAF’s ultimate objective is to meet its own costs • Review of membership fees: objectives, payment patterns, exceptions, long term budgeting • Other potential resources – ‘institute’ approach • Need to refocusing relations with Partners: • Develop Code of Engagement (Partner’s Charter) contributions, development and use of intangibles, hiring and responsibilities of secondees. • Creation of a Advisory Board to advise Council on resourcing etc • Strategic approach to identification and engagement of next generation of resource partners

6. IMPACT • ATAF and the financial crisis (a brief overview) • Tax and development • Evasion and illicit financial flows • BEPS • Post BEPS - digitalisation • Challenges • Access to and use of data and information • Maximising benefits through implementation of international tax standards • Influencing the global agenda • Reinforcing the ATAF Brand • Technical assistance • Africa’s voice • ATAF’s Research Platform

7. IMPACT: TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE • The challenge: A continental approach to TA • ‘client focused’ TA approach to ‘downstream’ work • domestic-international-admin balance • engaging policy counterparts in TA work at working level • African driven solutions, • Solutions in international tax • African best practices/technology • African delivery of TA and external support teams • Suggestions for building TA sustainability (and ‘upstream’ work) • Joint research-TA project on TA sustainability • Technical committee on domestic tax policy and admin • Policy briefs to cover domestic as well as international issues

8. IMPACT: AFRICA’s VOICE ON TAXATION • The challenge • Achieving a coherent and effective voice reflecting diversity of interests and capacity across continent • ATAF representation • Larger economies • Countries not otherwise represented • Policy briefs in conjunction with regional orgs eg ECOWAS to reflect divergent regional perspectives • Working with partners • Negotiate practical support from OECD and UN in standard setting, as well as World Bank through online briefings, pre-meeting seminars • Regular technical/procedural briefings digested for members

9. IMPACT: RESEARCH WORK • The challenge: Making research count • Maintaining ATAF’s effective voice through understanding key issues, trends, positions and data. • The role of research • Support on going TA work providing depth and context to interventions using ATO and ATRN • Member oriented research strategy • Identify future oriented issues • Research and the future. • A joint research - technical assistance project to learn lessons from first decade and set out future orientations • Provide a regular future oriented research perspective to Council to allow planning based on future trends

10. INNOVATION: THE NEXT DECADE • The world outside ATAF • Tax means running behind the bus • Technology and digitalisation of the economy (not just the digital economy) - problems in search of solutions • The future of source and residence • Administrative solutions to policy issues • Harnessing African innovation beyond BEPS • The key challenge for African tax regimes: Accessing, storing, retrieving, and manipulating data • ATAF’s role • Build a specialised cross-directorate team to consider digitisation issues from African perspective • Develop a funded programme around African countries ability to access, securely receive (using CRS), store, and manipulate data.

11. SUMMARY • Inclusivity: increase membership and engagement • Members Charter • Pro-active and strategic foreign policy • Resources • Membership review • Code of Engagement (Partner’s charter) • Advisory Board for Stakeholders • Impact: • TA ‘Downstream’ – client focused model • TA ‘Upstream’ – domestic as well as international policy • Joint Research-TA sustainability project • Innovation • Digitisation as next key challenge • Project: accessing, receiving, storing, manipulating data • Building staff interaction, mentoring system, handbook etc.