From 6 to 22 August 2024, our Programme Officer – Africa, Aya Douabou, participated in the International Tax Justice Academy, a flagship course organised by Tax Justice Network Africa. 

The academy, which took place in a hybrid format and attracted over 35 participants across Africa, was themed ‘Building the Next Generation of Tax Justice Champions.’

This year’s course featured both virtual and in-person sessions: Preliminary virtual sessions were held from 6 to 15 August, and practical sessions took place in person from 20 to 22 August in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.  

The virtual sessions provided an overview of:  

• The foundations of taxation 
• Tax justice 
• International Taxation 
• Taxation of natural resources 
• Tax expenditure 

The in-person training delved deeper into the abovementioned topics by providing case studies for participants to solve using the acquired theoretical knowledge. More importantly, it broke down technical taxation concepts with concrete examples (double taxation treaties, arm’s length principle, transfer pricing, tax evasion, tax avoidance, BEPS pillars 1 and 2).

The training also equipped participants with the necessary know-how to advocate tax justice at the national, regional, and global levels.  

As a follow-up, participants are expected to complete self-paced online learning through a learning management system to be awarded a certificate and to engage with policymakers at the national level to push for tax justice reforms using the knowledge acquired throughout this training. 

GI-ESCR wishes to express its profound gratitude to Tax Justice Network Africa and Policy Forum, Tanzania, for the opportunity to strengthen its capacity in tax justice, which is a highly relevant topic for our organisation. We indeed promote progressive fiscal policies for the sustainable financing of public services and the realisation of everyone’s economic, social, and cultural rights.