Tax for Development : The Need for Increased Stakeholder Engagement and Public Debate Savior Mwambwa Zambia Tax Platform/CTPD 19 th April 2012 Tax for Development International Workshop 2012, BUILDING THE DOMETIC REVENUE BASE: NATURAL RESOURCE TAXATION AND TAX MORALE

Outline What do we mean by Engagement? Who are the Stakeholders? Why is it important to promote and broaden stakeholder engagement? Zambia Examples: ZTP?

What do we mean by Engagement? Transparent & Mutually beneficial dialogue among interested parties Constructive criticism/questioning of efficacy of Tax policy and admin. actions Genuine discussion on merits/de-merits of policy choices Evidence based /well informed exchange of views Willingness to be accountable.

Who are the Stakeholders? Any one who is affected/Affecting Tax policy/administration. Tax Payers ( present & Future) Politicians, Policy makers & Administrators (Revenue Authorities, Ministry officials) Business, civil society, students, academics, Researchers, media, Broad Citizens e.t.c

Added Value in Increased Stakeholder engagement Increases understanding of Implications of the different Tax policy options Strengthens legitimacy of Tax collection Lowers the risks of Raw deals between Large tax payers & Tax administrators Stakeholder buy in Helps correct public perceptions! Boosts Tax payer morale

Case of Zambia Tax Platform

What Is the ZTP? Loose but regular platform that seeks to promote dialogue and media debate in Zambia in a simplified manner on taxation issues. Informed by research/evidence and inclusive of a wide variety of voices with links to international research networks.

Why the need for a Tax Platform? Interest among citizens is growing around tax issues BUT Limited space for stakeholders and general Public to discuss tax issues ZTP seeks to provide a space that would enable ‘increased stakeholder engagement and public debate on tax and governance in Zambia’ Long term goal : To increase communication between Tax Authorities,research organizations and other actors in society on tax issues To ensure that the tax research agendas are relevant to the public and findings are accessible to non-specialist audience s.

Objectives of the Tax Platform To support interaction and exchange among, various and the media on tax issues. To break down taxation governance as a body of knowledge, in simple concepts, so as to allow effective and constructive contributions from all. To increase the quality and frequency of media reporting on tax and governance issues To provide spaces and platforms for genuinely inclusive dialogue around key tax and governance issues for the region

Areas of focus 1. Accountability: Holding governments to account for tax governance policy and for equitable tax policies. 2. Citizen Awareness: Tax awareness and education Citizen mobilisation, participation and advocacy 3. Tax Policy Analysis: Tax reform (e.g. building an equitable and efficient tax system) Tax policy reviews 4. Domestic revenue mobilisation financing for development

Proposed Methods and planned activities – Quarterly meetings open to all interested stakeholders, – Facilitate broad citizens input into tax policy – Tax briefing/analytical papers Capacity Building initiatives for the media and other groups ( NGOs, Trade Unions, Professional Associations) Tax is largely a Political & Development Issue.