Africa Recovers €4.6bn From Offshore Income, but Few Benefit
By Patience Ikpeme
African tax authorities have recovered more than €4.6 billion in extra revenue since 2009 by obtaining information about taxpayers’ money and assets kept abroad. Yet only a small number of countries are enjoying most of the gains.
This emerged at the 2026 Continental Exchange of Information Conference and Workshop, which opened on Wednesday in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
The three-day meeting, which runs until 16 October, is organised by the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) and hosted by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA).
The meeting is bringing together heads of tax offices and tax experts from across the continent. Its aim is to help governments work more closely together, stop money from leaving the continent illegally, and collect more tax at home.
Exchange of information simply means that the tax office in one country asks another country for details about income, bank accounts or property that a taxpayer has there. With that information, tax officials can find out whether a person or company has hidden money to avoid paying tax.
According to ATAF, the method is already paying off. Money recovered through information exchange, cross-border audits and investigations, and programmes that allow taxpayers to come forward voluntarily has passed €4.6 billion since 2009. In 2025 alone, African tax offices recovered €417 million.
However, the benefits are not spread evenly. Many African tax offices still struggle with weak laws, a shortage of trained staff and difficulty in making good use of the information they receive from other countries. That means some governments are still losing revenue that could pay for roads, schools and hospitals.
ATAF’s Head of International and Cross-Border Taxation, Mr Antony Munanda, said the conference was meant to close that gap. “Exchange of Information is an essential instrument for protecting Africa’s tax base and strengthening domestic revenue mobilisation,” he said. “We have seen the results it can deliver, but too many of our members are yet to fully benefit.”
He said the conference would push for stronger political support, build practical skills, and make sure tax offices have “the tools and expertise to effectively use information held beyond their borders.”
The acting Commissioner General of ZIMRA, Mr Misheck Govha, said no tax office could solve these problems alone, especially as business now crosses borders easily. “Zimbabwe is pleased to host this important continental engagement, which brings African tax administrations together to share experiences and identify practical solutions to common challenges,” he said. “Stronger cooperation and effective exchange of information are essential to protecting public revenue and supporting our countries’ development priorities.”
In his opening speech, Hon. Mnangagwa said governments must make international tax cooperation part of the way they plan to pay for development. “African economies operate within an interconnected financial system. Income, assets and business transactions cross borders, while governments remain responsible for financing development at home,” he said.
He added that sharing information “helps establish the facts needed to address concealed taxable income and assets, investigate tax-related illicit financial flows and enforce domestic tax laws.”
The first day of the conference focused on top-level talks about openness in tax matters, political leadership and the rollout of Automatic Exchange of Information, a system in which countries share taxpayer details with one another on a regular basis without waiting to be asked.
The next two days will deal with practical matters. These include how to make a proper request for information, how to use the information received in tax audits, how two countries can examine the same taxpayer at the same time, how to find out who really owns a company, and how countries can review one another’s performance.
ATAF is also running other programmes to support this work. One of them is the ATAF Agreement on Mutual Assistance in Tax Matters, which sets out the rules for cooperation among African tax offices. The forum also provides technical help, training and practical tools to its members.
Participants will also look at a computer system for automatic information exchange that was built by Africans. It was developed jointly by ATAF and the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA), with support from the World Bank. Organisers say it shows that African-made technology can help the continent collect the tax it is owed.
The conference follows the first one held in 2024. ATAF says the series is part of its effort to put Africa in charge of the information exchange agenda and to help more member countries turn international cooperation into higher government revenue.
