Leaders of revenue authorities from twelve African countries held a seminar in South Africa on 10–12 April 2013 to discuss issues surrounding Board governance of revenue authorities. The meeting was organized by the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The issue of governance is increasingly important as some African countries aim to set up semi-autonomous revenue authorities within their governments. These revenue bodies can take independent decisions on structure, recruitment, training and other important areas of governance. Such revenue authorities would typically be governed by a Board that consists of representatives from the public and private sectors.

The African Tax Administration Forum was set up to provide knowledge sharing opportunities that enable representatives of countries across the continent to meet to discuss matters of common concern and work out common solutions by sharing experience and best practices. The tax administrations across the continent, and especially those in small African countries that lack the resources to expand their operations, are helped by ATAF to tackle their tax collection and administration challenges. The aim is to equip tax administrations on the continent to mobilise the tax resources needed to support the push for economic growth in their countries.

The meeting in South Africa aimed to provide a forum within which leaders of revenue authorities could share best practice on governance and set up an informal communication network between the various revenue authorities in the continent. The meeting was an opportunity to look at information on statistics and the best legal framework for governance of revenue authorities. Such statistics provide a measure of performance and allow comparison of progress between revenue authorities. The meeting also aimed to identify subject areas where further research and discussion would benefit the parties.