This is where heads of tax authorities committed to strengthening joint efforts to close tax gaps and ease compliance pressures on taxpayers.
Speaking to Channel Africa on Monday after the meeting, Latita Africa Chief Executive Jemaine Manikus said the forum made clear that tax administration worldwide is entering a new phase defined by digitalisation, big data and artificial intelligence.
“Everything from administration is going to become more digital, real-time and connected across the globe,” he said, adding that global tax commissioners are increasingly looking to artificial intelligence (AI) to tighten compliance and improve transparency.
Manikus said the shift is set to transform how African countries manage cross-border transactions. Historically, tax authorities relied on paperwork long after transactions had taken place. Under the emerging model, real-time data sharing will allow authorities to be notified immediately.
“So when I’m doing a transaction between here and Mozambique, Mozambique’s authorities are already informed, not waiting for you to let them know,” he explained.
However, he noted that while SA is among the most advanced on the continent in digital tax systems, such as e-filing, many countries still depend on legacy systems and lack the technical skills required to modernise.
Manikus said SA remains “ahead of the pace”, but must overhaul legacy systems to fully integrate with global tax platforms under development at the OECD. He emphasised the need for both skilled personnel and rigorous data analysis to avoid over-reliance on AI outputs.
A major challenge is meeting rising global expectations on tax transparency, including automatic exchange of information and clearer beneficial-ownership disclosures. SA tightened these requirements after its grey-listing, but multinational companies with complex tax-avoidance structures face increasing scrutiny as authorities gain faster access to global data.
Emerging international standards include real-time, event-based tax models, AI-driven compliance systems and closer links between tax, anti-money-laundering and environmental, social, and governance frameworks. Manikus said SA must prepare for global minimum tax rules and new asset-reporting requirements, including cryptocurrency.
“Transparency is going to be key,” he said. “If companies are structuring purely to avoid tax, they face a daunting task.”
Manikus said policymakers should brace for even greater transparency demands, deeper data sharing and stricter oversight of multinational transactions. Aligning SA’s systems with global trends, he said, will be vital to protecting revenue in a low-growth and high-debt environment.
“The whole aim is to ensure authorities can collect the revenue due to them,” he added. “We need to be aligned with global trends, not only within SA, but internationally.”
–ChannelAfrica–
