The Executive Secretary of the West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF), Mr. Jules Tapsoba, has disclosed that the Forum, in collaboration with the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), is exploring support for the development of regional tools, guides, or applications to better tax the digital economy and facilitate the exchange of information between tax and customs administrations.
The Executive Secretary Tapsoba, who also hinted on ongoing efforts by many countries in the region to address the taxation of the digital economy, noted that countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, and Senegal had introduced reforms to tax digital services and online economic activities, ensuring that governments can effectively mobilize revenue in an increasingly digitalized global economy.
The tax administrator made the remarks while participating as a panelist at the 11th Africa Tax Symposium held in Rabat, Morocco, from June 3–5, 2026.
He emphasized that WATAF’s role extended beyond observing these developments and that hrough training programmes, technical assistance, peer-to-peer learning, knowledge-sharing platforms, research, and strategic partnerships, WATAF had been actively supporting member-nations’ tax administrations in building the skills, systems, and institutional capacities required to respond to emerging technological and fiscal challenges.
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Tapsoba stressed that while technology offered tremendous opportunities, it also presented new challenges that require continuous investment in human capital, institutional capacity, and regional cooperation.
While reaffirming the Forum’s commitment to helping member countries navigate these changes through targeted capacity-building initiatives and strategic collaborations, the Executive Secretary spoke on the Forum’s growing role in supporting tax administrations across West Africa to modernize their operations, embrace digital transformation, and strengthen domestic revenue mobilization.
The symposium, which was organized by the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD), featured tax commissioners, directors general, policymakers, academics, development partners, and tax professionals from across Africa and beyond, who discussed emerging trends in international taxation and the future of tax administration.
As a panelist on the theme, “The Tax Administration of the Future: Modernization and Reform for the Next Decade”, the tax expert joined senior tax and development leaders from the Rwanda Revenue Authority, the Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA), the United Nations, IBFD, and other international institutions to examine how technology, digitalization, and innovation are reshaping tax administration globally and across Africa.
During the discussion, Tapsoba noted that tax administrations across West Africa had made significant progress in adopting digital technologies aimed at improving taxpayer services, increasing compliance, reducing leakages, and expanding the tax base.
He cited reforms undertaken by several WATAF member-nations, including integrated tax administration systems, electronic VAT platforms, digital dispute resolution mechanisms, electronic invoicing systems, and enhanced online taxpayer services.
According to the Executive Secretary, while progress varies among countries, the overall direction is clear: tax administrations across West Africa are increasingly embracing digital solutions to improve efficiency, transparency, and service delivery
Tapsoba assured that the Forum would continue to position itself as a key regional partner supporting member countries in adapting to the rapidly evolving tax landscape and building future-ready revenue institutions.
The Africa Tax Symposium is widely regarded as one of the continent’s leading platforms for discussing international taxation and tax administration issues. The 2026 edition explored themes including digitalization, artificial intelligence, transfer pricing, international tax developments, global tax governance, trade and investment, and the future of tax administration in Africa.
Meanwhile, during the symposium, the Forum’s Executive Secretary was honoured and presented a plaque in recognition of his outstanding contribution to strengthening tax administrations across West Africa and advancing domestic revenue mobilization in the region.
The award also acknowledged WATAF’s active participation in international, regional, and multilateral discussions on taxation, tax administration reforms, and domestic revenue mobilization, while reflecting the Forum’s increasing visibility and influence as a leading regional platform for cooperation, knowledge sharing, capacity building, and tax administration modernization in West Africa.
While receiving the award plaque, Tapsoba dedicated the honour to WATAF’s member-nations’ tax administrators, partners, and stakeholders whose collective efforts, he said, continued to advance tax administration reforms and domestic resource mobilization across the region.
