Building Tax Capacity in Africa

Most African countries raise relatively little tax revenue. They struggle to finance basic education, health care, electricity and transportation needs whose financing is crowded out by high interest payments on national debts. This imbalance between government revenue and the funding needed to support essential government programs calls for comprehensive structural reforms. These include generating more revenue by raising the level of taxation, efficiently and equitably, as called for by the African Union's Agenda 2063, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. Building Tax Capacity in Africa reviews selective features of African tax systems, examining the forms of governance and economic settings in which various tax systems operate. It analyses taxes on income, profits, and wealth as well as taxes on goods and services, reviews property taxes and the structure of municipal finance, and assesses tax administration and policy. This book on tax policy, design, and administration demonstrates how the continent's tax systems can be reformed to provide predictable and sustainable sources of government revenue.