By zainab.joaque@awokonewspaper.sl
Freetown, SIERRA LEONE – The Commissioner General of the National Revenue Authority (NRA), Jeneba Bangura led a delegation to Washington for a collection of high-level conferences through the annual IMF/World Bank gatherings.
The journey proved fruitful, with a number of essential commitments secured to assist Sierra Leone’s income mobilization efforts.
At the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department, the NRA crew introduced their case for technical help. “We outlined our current support needs and requirements for the short to medium term,” defined the Senior Director of Monitoring, Research and Planning. The IMF responded positively, committing to finish ongoing help and undertake new initiatives in areas like compliance threat administration, tax legislation evaluations, and digital transformation.
The delegation then met with the World Bank nation crew and Vice President for West and Central Africa. “The need for more revenue effort was emphasized, especially given Sierra Leone’s recent GDP rebasing,” the Commissioner General famous. The Bank pledged to prioritize capability constructing and reforms in tax administration, with the VP stating that “Sierra Leone is among the countries prioritized by the World Bank for strengthening revenue mobilization capacity.”
A follow-up assembly with the Bank’s Governance Practice crew yielded a transparent roadmap for assist. “They’re building on our impressive delivery of tax reforms over the past 6 years,” Bangura mentioned proudly. “Our implementation of ITAS and ASYCUDA World has been exemplary – we’re now attracting study tours from other countries.”
The African Union Commission hosted a facet occasion on the proposed UN conference on tax cooperation. “The role of tax administrations in Africa was well highlighted,” the Commissioner General remarked. “There’s a push to get more tax experts from revenue administrations seconded to the UN in New York to provide better expertise on this important convention.”
The NRA delegation’s busy schedule continued with a collection of productive facet conferences. The crew had dialogue with senior representatives from the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), together with the Deputy Executive Secretary and the Senior International Tax Expert.
“We’re looking forward to the ATAF Annual Meeting and General Assembly in Rwanda this December,” the Commissioner General remarked. “It’s an excellent opportunity to connect with our peers from across the continent and share best practices.”
The dialog rapidly turned to a urgent situation for Sierra Leone: taxation of digital providers. “ATAF has committed to supporting the NRA in this crucial area,” the CG defined. “We’ll be finalizing plans for capacity building during the Kigali meeting. It’s a complex field, but one we need to master to ensure we’re capturing revenue from the digital economy.”
Next, the delegation met with representatives from the US Treasury. The officers reassured the CG of their intention to reinvigorate the connection between the 2 organizations. “We’re excited to re-engage our Office of Technical Assistance with the NRA,” one Treasury official acknowledged. “There’s a wealth of expertise we can bring to bear in supporting your revenue administration efforts.”
The day concluded with a gathering involving the Rockefeller Foundation and Global Sovereign Advisory. These organizations expressed their eagerness to collaborate with the NRA on sensible income technology measures.
“We’re committed to working with you to identify areas where our expertise can make a real difference,” a Rockefeller Foundation consultant assured the CG. “We’ll be following up soon to explore specific opportunities for engagement.”
Bangura and her crew had two different productive encounters with analysis companions.
First, she met with Jerome, the Senior Economist from SICPA, a Swiss firm recognized for its product marking know-how. Jerome supplied an replace on the continued financial influence evaluation of SICPA’s know-how on excisable merchandise in Sierra Leone.
“While the assessment is still in progress, our preliminary analysis shows that the impact of SICPA on revenue mobilization has been significantly positive,” Jerome reported. He added, “We’ll need some additional data to complete the analysis, but once we confirm what’s needed, I’ll be in touch with the NRA.”
Jerome additionally promised to share the ultimate evaluation report and switch information concerning the methodology used to the NRA’s analysis division. “We’re committed to not just providing results, but also building capacity within your team,” he assured.
Later, the NRA delegation met with Max Gallien, a senior analysis fellow from the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD). Their dialogue lined a number of key areas of collaboration.
“We’re excited about the potential to expand our current research partnership,” Max enthused. They additionally mentioned plans for the upcoming analysis companions assembly in Rwanda in early December 2024.
The Commissioner General’s potential involvement in a panel on the tax administration digitalization convention, scheduled instantly after the companions assembly in Kigali, was one other subject of dialogue. “Your insights would be invaluable at the conference,” Max instructed. “It would be a great opportunity to share Sierra Leone’s experiences with digital transformation in tax administration.”
These conferences underscored the NRA’s dedication to evidence-based policy-making and its rising repute as a forward-thinking tax administration in Africa. The Commissioner General left each conferences feeling optimistic concerning the potential for these analysis partnerships to drive enhancements in Sierra Leone’s tax system.
“Overall, it was an extremely productive series of engagements,” the Commissioner General concluded. “We’ve secured commitments for technical assistance, capacity building, and reform support that will be crucial for improving Sierra Leone’s revenue mobilization in the coming years.” ZIJ/30/10/2024
