Tax Avoidance in Sub-Saharan Africa’s Mining Sector

Departmental Papers, September 28, 2021

Source details

Authors: Giorgia Albertin, Boriana Yontcheva, Dan Devlin, Hilary Devine, Marc Gerard, Sebastian Beer, Irena Jankulov Suljagic, Vimal V Thakoor
Published: September 28, 2021
Series: Departmental Papers
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781513594361.087

The paper aims to contribute to the international policy debate around profit shifting, tax avoidance and SSA’s revenue mobilization efforts in three ways:
- It examines the importance of mining, the role of multinational enterprises (MNEs), and mining revenue outcomes in SSA.
- It assesses the magnitude of profit shifting in mining drawing on new macro level research, supplemented by case studies to illustrate the lived experience of tax avoidance in SSA mining.
- It identifies tax policy reforms that could boost revenue mobilization in SSA.

Combines macro level research on profit shifting with case studies to illustrate practical experiences of tax avoidance in SSA mining.
Focuses on profit shifting and tax avoidance by mining MNEs and the implications for revenue mobilization in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Corporate income tax; Corporate taxes; Tax incentives; Withholding tax; Tax policy; Taxes.
Economic sectors: Mining sector; natural resource taxation.
Keywords emphasized in the paper: Africa; Corporate income tax; Corporate Income Taxation; Corporate taxes; Developing Countries; Global; International Taxation; Mining; mining MNE profits; mining revenue outcome; Mining sector; MNE tax avoidance; Multinational Enterprises; natural resource taxation; profit shifting; Profit Shifting; revenue loss; Revenue Mobilization; SSA economy; SSA resource-intensive country; Sub-Saharan Africa; Tax Avoidance.; Tax incentives; Tax Incentives; Withholding tax.

Assessment of the magnitude of profit shifting in mining to inform policy debate.
Identification of tax policy reforms aimed at boosting revenue mobilization in SSA.
Use of case studies to ground macro findings in the lived experience of tax avoidance in SSA mining.