The African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), the Egyptian Tax Authority (ETA), and the OECD are organising the event. The meeting will be a forum for tax administrators to share information and experiences in transfer pricing, which is a subject of growing concern in developing countries, including African nations.
At least 56 officials will participate in the 12-day meeting, which will run from February 14 to February 25.
The chairman of ATAF, Oupa Magashula, said in a statement that the continued growth of international trade among countries and the growing number of tax authorities that are introducing transfer pricing rules makes this a good time for officials to get together and discuss the issues. ATAF is comprised of 28 members, including Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.
David McNair, a senior economic justice adviser at Christian Aid, an organisation devoted to fighting poverty, explained that transfer pricing issues are increasingly placed on the economic agenda in developing countries because many of these nations do not have the expertise or legislation to deal with these complex issues.
“There is concern among development agencies that these countries are losing out on significant amounts of revenue that they could be using for things like poverty alleviation,” said McNair.
Transfer pricing has also received increased media attention as countries around the world are scrutinising international taxation as a means of recovering revenue in a time when their economies are struggling. McNair believes that this has contributed to the issue’s visibility in Africa as well.
Other emerging markets, such as Brazil, have been aggressive and effective in tackling transfer pricing issues recently. “The thing that is exciting about ATAF,” said McNair, “is that African countries are coming together and trying to deal with the problems collectively.”
Mining companies and commodities businesses will be particularly affected by any changes to transfer pricing in Africa, McNair says. “As countries see how they can extract wealth from natural resources, transfer pricing will continue to be a serious issue.”
Other international organisations are also beginning to take transfer pricing more seriously. The UN tax committee is meeting January 19 and 20 in New York to discuss and potentially draft transfer pricing guidelines to assist governments in developing countries.
