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Ghana’s Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has called for stronger tax cooperation among African governments and regional institutions to protect domestic revenue and address the continent’s development financing needs.
Forson said African countries need a stronger and more coordinated voice in the international tax system as governments confront emerging global tax issues and increasingly complex cross-border business structures.
The Minister made the call in a speech delivered on his behalf by Kweku George Ricketts-Hagan, Board Chairman of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), at the opening of the 8th High-Level Policy Dialogue and 23rd General Assembly of the West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF) in Accra.
The meeting, co-hosted by the GRA and WATAF, was held under the theme: “Building Stronger Tax Administrations for Revenue Mobilisation and Sustainable Development.”
Africa needs stronger voice in global tax system
Forson said regional institutions should strengthen the capacity of African tax administrations to implement international tax standards and provide countries with the technical capabilities required to negotiate effectively in the changing global tax environment.
He said African countries must be better positioned to protect their legitimate tax bases as businesses expand across jurisdictions and international tax rules continue to evolve.
The Minister identified base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), taxation of the digital economy and the global minimum tax as issues that have become increasingly important to Africa’s development agenda.
According to him, the complexity of international business structures and the movement of capital across borders mean tax authorities can no longer operate as isolated institutions.
Tax authorities urged to strengthen information sharing
Forson called for stronger mechanisms for sharing taxpayer intelligence, identifying cross-border tax risks and exchanging knowledge on successful compliance interventions.
He said regional cooperation should provide a stronger tax backbone for African countries and enable tax administrations to respond collectively to emerging challenges in international taxation.
Greater cooperation, he added, would help tax authorities improve their ability to identify activities that shift taxable income across jurisdictions and protect revenues that would otherwise be lost.
The Minister also called for increased investment in African tax expertise, urging the continent to reduce excessive dependence on external technical capacity and develop stronger indigenous capabilities in tax administration.
Tackling illicit financial flows and revenue leakages
Forson said efforts to improve revenue mobilisation must also address illicit financial flows and other activities that undermine tax collection.
He identified tax evasion, trade under-invoicing, smuggling and other forms of revenue leakage as challenges requiring coordinated action from governments, tax authorities and regional institutions.
He urged African governments and regional bodies to make greater use of data, digital technologies, cross-border cooperation and professional development to build tax administrations capable of responding to increasingly sophisticated compliance risks.
According to the Minister, stronger institutions and better access to taxpayer information will be important as African economies become more digitally connected and businesses increasingly operate across multiple jurisdictions.
Domestic revenue remains critical to development
Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, Commissioner-General of the GRA, said African countries must mobilise domestic resources fairly, efficiently and sustainably to address their development financing challenges.
Sarpong noted that West Africa recorded real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 4.8 per cent in 2025, with growth projected at 4.6 per cent in 2026.
Despite the growth outlook, he said the region continues to face a significant development financing gap, reinforcing the need for stronger domestic revenue systems.
He urged tax administrations to broaden the tax base, formalise informal economic activities, improve the management of natural-resource revenues and strengthen information exchange among jurisdictions.
The call for deeper tax cooperation comes as African countries seek to strengthen domestic resource mobilisation while navigating increasingly complex international tax rules, digital business models and cross-border financial flows.
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