Global Forum and OECD support ECOWAS in improving its legal framework on tax transparency and the fight against base erosion

 

27/03/2023 - Under the Support Programme for Tax Transition in West Africa (Programme d'Appui à la Transition Fiscale en Afrique de l'Ouest - PATF), the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (Global Forum) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have been assisting the Commissions of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) since 2020 to put in place an harmonised legal framework to strengthen the fight against tax base erosion, profit shifting, illicit financial flows and tax fraud.

Experts from ECOWAS Member States, the ECOWAS and WAEMU Commissions, the Global Forum and the OECD met in Dakar, Senegal, from 21 to 24 March 2023, to finalise three draft regional instruments relating to:

• transfer pricing to enable a more effective fight against tax base erosion
• exchange of information and other forms of administrative co-operation to better combat tax evasion and avoidance
• availability of, and access to, beneficial ownership information.

The Global Forum and OECD experts also met with Mr Abdoulaye Diagne, Director General of the Directorate General of Taxes (Direction Générale des Impôts et des Domaines) of Senegal, to discuss the ongoing bilateral technical assistance and capacity-building projects.

Funded by the European Union, the PATF aims to support the implementation of fiscal transition programmes in West Africa following the implementation of regional trade liberalisation policies. It covers the fifteen member states of the ECOWAS and Mauritania and runs from 2020 to 2023. Under the PATF, the Global Forum and the OECD support the ECOWAS Member States, Mauritania, and the ECOWAS and WAEMU Commissions to enable them to better combat tax evasion and other illicit financial flows to mobilise domestic resources and improve tax transparency.

More information

» Tax Transparency in Africa 2022
» 2023 Global Forum Capacity Building Report

The Global Forum is the leading multilateral body mandated to ensure that jurisdictions around the world adhere to and effectively implement both the exchange of information on request standard and the standard of automatic exchange of information. These objectives are achieved through a robust monitoring and peer review process. The Global Forum also runs an extensive capacity-building programme to support its members in implementing the standards and help tax authorities make the best use of cross-border information sharing channels.

For more information, please contact gftaxcooperation@oecd.org