Description:
Tax evasion and avoidance generate distortions in tax systems and cause significant revenue losses for African economies. International cooperation is one of the most effective methods of combating tax evasion and tax avoidance. As such, many countries are participating in global initiatives toward the exchange of information between national administrations for tax purposes. This paper provides the first empirical evidence on the revenue effects of tax-related exchange of information for African countries. The regressions are carried out on a sample of 54 African countries on data from 1990-2020. The findings indicate that the exchange of information for tax purposes between national tax jurisdictions has a positive and statistically significant impact on tax revenue. The estimation results show that exchange of information could increase tax revenue collection by a magnitude ranging from 5 to 19 percent. These findings reiterate the importance of international cooperation for combating tax evasion and stimulating tax collection in Africa