Position Paper and a Common List of Demands for Representatives of the Civil Society From Africa to Propose a Reform of International Corporate Taxation in the Fight Against Illicit Financial Flows

Abstract

This position paper recommends the stand that representatives from civil society from Africa should take on the fight against Illicit Financial Flows (IFF). It is envisaged that tackling IFF from Africa requires reform of international corporate taxation. This tax system has many loopholes, and Transnational Corporations (TNCs) have exploited them. Profit shifting, and transfer pricing remain the primary drivers of corporate tax practices that facilitate IFF. Yet, these practices have not been adequately dealt with at both the international and regional fora. Estimates from the African Development Bank reveal that IFF have resulted in corporate tax losses in excess of a trillion dollars from Africa since 1980. The Tax Justice Network (TJN) and the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department estimate these losses at $500bn and $200bn respectively per annum. In 2015, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) published its High Level Panel Report on Illicit Financial Flows (HLP Report) in which it reported that Africa is losing more than $50 billion annually in IFFs. The Report asserted that this estimate may well fall short of reality because accurate data does not exist for all African countries, and these estimates often exclude some forms of IFFs that by nature are secret and cannot be properly estimated, such as proceeds of bribery and trafficking of drugs, people and firearms as well as corruption. In July 2018, at the High Level Policy Dialogue on Development Planning in Africa the Head of Development Planning and Statistics at the Economic Commission for Africa reported that $100 billion a year is illegally earned, transferred, or used due to mis-invoicing. These Tax losses resulting from IFF have become too serious to neglect anymore.