Africa needs to review Double Taxation Agreements– GII Director

Mrs Linda Ofori-Kwafo, the Executive Director of Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) has called on African countries to review and renegotiate existing Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs).

She said there was an increased signing of various tax treaties in Africa while some of the existing agreements were a subject of abuse, crippling economies in the continents.

She said efforts by African countries to develop the continent had been very difficult as a result of challenges regarding tax evasion and tax avoidance by some countries.

She said if these issues were resolved, it could help save the continent huge sums of money for development.

Speaking at the launch of “Dangers of Double Tax Agreement in Financing Development: a case study in Ghana,” Mrs Ofori-Kwafo said the report emphasized the need to adopt a harmonized DTA model, which would take into consideration diversities in the African economies.

“Considering all the level of weaknesses and discrepancies that are embedded in most of the existing laws across the continent, there is, therefore, the need for thorough review and renegotiation,” she added.

Mrs Linda Ofori-Kwafo said the study specifically sought to critically review DTAs Ghana had signed with South Africa and the United Kingdom (UK) and analyse the dangers towards financing development.

She stressed the need to make African countries dependent on financing developments through domestic resource mobilization.

She said in view of that Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA), in collaboration with its members of South and Eastern Africa Trade Information and Negotiation Institute (SEATINI Uganda), Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre Nigeria (CISLAC), Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Policy Forum Tanzania and Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) Zambia with support from Open Society Foundation (OSF) had conducted a joint study on the Dangers of DTAs in Financing Development in Africa with case studies of Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

GNA