A continental workshop on Enhancing Tax Compliance Among High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs) in Africa was held in Entebbe from 21-23 October, co-organised by ATAF and the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD), and hosted by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA). The workshop brought together 45 delegates from 15 African countries.
The event opened with remarks from the URA Assistant Commissioner for the Large Taxpayers Office Mr Ngaruye Innocent, speaking on behalf of the Commissioner General, who stressed the need for collective action to broaden the tax base and strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation.
In her address, ATAF Executive Secretary Ms Mary Baine underlined the power of partnership, noting that collaboration among ATAF, URA and ICTD had made the workshop possible. She highlighted key challenges facing African tax administrations—under-resourcing, limited integration of third-party data, and insufficient use of administrative data for decision-making—and affirmed ATAF’s readiness to support members in achieving Domestic Revenue Mobilisation (DRM) objectives in line with the Seville Declaration. She encouraged administrations to approach the HNWI agenda with confidence and a solutions-oriented mindset.
An opening keynote by Mr Sam Shivute, Commissioner of the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA), and ATAF’s council Vice Chair, reinforced the importance of upholding the Seville principles and emphasised the pivotal role of leadership in building credible HNWI compliance programmes that are fair, effective and trusted.
The workshop also offered a high-level panel discussion on “The Strategic and Political Dynamics of Taxing HNWIs”. Moderated by Mr Martin Hearson (Director, ICTD), the panel—Mr. Sam Shivute, Ms Mary Baine, and Mr Henry Ngutwa (Deputy Commissioner General, Malawi Revenue Authority)—shared practical insights on strengthening compliance frameworks, improving data access and inter-institutional cooperation, and navigating political dynamics to ensure equitable and efficient taxation of the continent’s wealthiest individuals.
Over the subsequent days, participating countries exchanged experiences on profiling HNWIs, identified priority datasets and tools, and reviewed administrative and legal enablers for enforcement. The workshop concluded with a set of actionable recommendations to inform an updated ATAF Guide on Taxing High-Net-Worth Individuals and to shape future research and technical assistance to support African tax administrations in implementing robust HNWI compliance strategies.
