Informal sector experts and tax administration officials from African countries are gathered in Abuja for a three-day conference to discuss how to address challenges arising from the informal sector in Africa.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Forum.
According to the statement, the conference is being jointly hosted by the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) and Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), with the support of the African Development Bank.
It forms part of a meeting of tax officials from ATAF’s 38 member countries to discuss the organisation’s 2020 work plan, which comprises a comprehensive calendar of activities aimed at building capacity and boosting skills in African tax administrations, supporting them through research and provision of technical assistance and expert advice.
The focus of this year’s conference is the informal economy which, according to a 2018 report of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), accounts for 85.8 per cent of employment in Africa.
According to the ILO report, two billion people – more than 61 per cent of the world’s employed population – make their living in the informal economy and that 93 per cent of the world’s informal employment is in emerging and developing countries.
The ILO report also stated that majority of informal sector workers lack social protection and labour rights, while informal sector businesses are constrained from advancing economically because they cannot access affordable financial products. This, added the report, has a negative impact on GDP, socio-economic development and tax collection.
“Because they operate outside the formal economic system it is difficult if not impossible to bring the informal sector into the tax net.
“The informal sector conference is the first of several similar events to be held in other regions of Africa planned by ATAF as part of its year-long research project on the informal sector. The aim to create discuss and develop a common understanding of what an African model for the efficient taxing of the informal sector entails with a view to producing guidelines and a framework that can be implemented by African tax administrations.
“The research project includes carrying out case studies in at least six African countries where ATAF can benchmark sound practices that can be incorporated into the African framework for an efficient and effective taxation of the informal sector. “The conference will also select experts to serve on a technical review committee on this project,” the statement said.
The conference will be the first official engagement of the the new FIRS Chairman, Mr. Muhammad Nami, who has taken over as the chair of the ATAF Council, which Nigeria currently holds.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")