Monrovia-Liberia Revenue Authority Commissioner General Dorbor Jallah has pushed for single goal for West African tax administrations, saying stronger regional cooperation is necessary to improve domestic revenue mobilization and address cross-border and digital tax challenges.
Speaking at the 8th West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF) High-Level Policy Dialogue and 23rd General Assembly in Accra, Ghana, he challenged tax leaders to move beyond cooperation toward greater integration.
According to him, Liberia’s experience with WATAF demonstrates how regional cooperation and knowledge sharing can strengthen national tax administration. “Liberia’s story is, in a real sense, the WATAF story: an administration made stronger by belonging,” Jallah said.
The LRA Commissioner General emphasized that the growing integration of trade, capital flows, digital commerce, and multinational business activities requires tax administrations to work more closely across national borders.
“The taxpayer has integrated. The question before us is whether the tax administrator will integrate too?” he said.
Jallah outlined four priorities for regional tax integration: one rulebook, one data space, one voice against illicit financial flows, and one green frontier.
Under the proposed one rulebook, he called for harmonized tax rules across West Africa, particularly in transfer pricing, treaty policy, and taxation of the digital economy.
He said common tax rules would help reduce revenue leakage and strengthen the region’s negotiating position in international tax matters.
On the issue of one data space, Jallah emphasized the need for stronger cross-border information exchange and secure, interoperable systems that connect customs information, beneficial ownership records, and other relevant tax data.
He said improved access to tax information would help revenue administrations strengthen compliance and address tax-related challenges involving businesses operating across borders.
Jallah also urged coordinated regional action against illicit financial flows, including greater information sharing, coordinated customs valuation, and closer monitoring of mining and oil exports.
He called on West African countries to present a united voice in international tax discussions, saying the region should play a more active role in shaping global tax rules.
“The global tax rules of this decade are being written now. West Africa should not be a footnote in that text. We should be an author,” Jallah said.
On environmental taxation, the LRA boss proposed a coordinated green frontier approach covering carbon, pollution, and other environmental taxes.
He said regional coordination in this area would help protect West Africa’s competitiveness, advance environmental goals, and expand access to climate finance.
Jallah further stressed the importance of domestic resource mobilization amid declining development assistance, rising debt-service pressures, and climate-related challenges facing countries across the region.
He said stronger domestic revenue collection remains critical to financing national priorities and supporting sustainable development.
The Commissioner General also called on development partners to increase support for regional tax infrastructure, including shared systems, common standards, and institutions that strengthen cooperation among national revenue administrations.
He challenged West African tax leaders to build on WATAF’s first 15 years by making the next 15 years an era of greater integration.
“Let us leave Accra having wagered even bigger, on a West Africa whose tax administrations are as integrated as its economies, as connected as its people, and as confident as its future demands,” Jallah said.
The WATAF High-Level Policy Dialogue and 23rd General Assembly is being held from September 15–19, 2026, in Accra, Ghana, under the theme, “Building Stronger Tax Administrations for Revenue Mobilisation and Sustainable Development.”
The event brings together heads of tax administrations, policymakers, regional institutions, development partners, and other stakeholders to discuss tax administration, domestic resource mobilisation, and sustainable development across West Africa.</WritingBlock>
Editing note: Before publication, confirm the official event dates, Jallah’s exact title, and the wording of the quotations against the original statement. The story is based on the information you provided and does not independently verify the event or revenue figures.
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