Osinbajo: Africa must collaborate with the rest of the world, to benefit from international taxation initiatives

Africa, according to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, needs to deepen cooperation and collaboration with the rest of the world in order to reap the most benefits from international taxation initiatives.

According to a statement released on Monday by Laolu Akande, the vice-spokesman, president’s Osinbajo spoke at the opening session of a panel at the ongoing Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

‘Economic sovereignty: From ambition to action’ was the forum’s theme.

Osinbajo stated that collaboration between Africa and the rest of the world is critical, but caution should be exercised when it comes to economic sovereignty.

“I believe we need to be a little more cautious with the concept of economic sovereignty,” the vice-president said, “because we really need to collaborate more and, given the way that development is going, we need to keep an eye on some of these things.”

“For example, if we look at the direction that technology is going, which is critical for us in Nigeria, particularly issues of taxation of tech companies and everything else, it is clear that this is difficult and that it is a major expression of sovereign power — the power to tax.”

“With the way the world and technology are structured today, you can’t use the same basis for taxation — personal and territorial basis.”

“These are multinational corporations with operations in multiple countries and continents.

“We need to work with the rest of the world and the international tax system to ensure that we get the most benefit; we need to take a seat at the table and ensure that all of the various international tax initiatives benefit Africa.”

While Africa is looking inwards, he believes it also needs to look outwards because tech companies use a lot of money around the world, and many African countries are value creators for these companies.

Africa, according to Osinbajo, needs to look into ways to tap into its intellectual capacity.

“Intellectual capital is now more important in the world.” “We need to think about how we can work with the rest of the world to get the most out of our intellectual capacity,” he said.

According to Abdulsamad Rabiu, chief executive officer of BUA Group, Africa should look inwards to accelerate development.

According to Rabiu, leaders on the continent must focus on leveraging opportunities provided by the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and improving infrastructure.

During his opening remarks, President Alassane Ouattara of Cote d’Ivoire praised the organisers for bringing together public and private sector leaders from across the continent and beyond to discuss and develop new paths aimed at boosting Africa’s economic transformation.

 

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, efforts have been focused on “building new partnerships between the public and private sectors, particularly providing opportunities for young Africans with a special focus on the green economy.”

President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, Makhtar Diop, managing director of the International Finance Corporation, Patrick Njoroge, governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, Kate Kanyi Tometi-Fotso, CEO of Telcar Cocoa, and Karim Beguir, CEO of Instadeep, were among the other panellists.