ACCRA, GHANA – Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) Commissioner General James Dorbor Jallah has called for deeper integration among West African tax administrations, emphasizing the importance of stronger regional cooperation in boosting domestic resource mobilization and addressing 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, Commissioner General Jallah said the next phase of WATAF should move beyond cooperation toward greater integration among tax administrations across the region.
He noted that Liberia has benefited significantly from regional cooperation and knowledge sharing, describing the country’s experience as an example of how WATAF membership can strengthen national tax administration.
“Liberia’s story is, in a real sense, the WATAF story: an administration made stronger by belonging,” Commissioner General Jallah said.
He argued that the increasingly integrated nature of trade, capital flows, digital commerce and multinational business activities requires tax administrations to deepen regional integration.
“The taxpayer has integrated. The question before us is whether the tax administrator will integrate too,” he said.
Commissioner General Jallah outlined key priorities for regional tax integration including one rulebook, one data space, one voice against illicit financial flows, and one green frontier.
Under the one rulebook, he called for harmonized tax rules across West Africa, particularly on transfer pricing, treaty policy and taxation of the digital economy, to reduce revenue leakage and strengthen the region’s negotiating position.
Commissioner General Jallah indicated that on the issue of one data space, there is a need for stronger cross-border information exchange and secure, interoperable systems linking customs information, beneficial ownership records and other relevant tax data to strengthen compliance.
He also highlighted the need for coordinated regional action against illicit financial flows, including greater information sharing, coordinated customs valuation and closer monitoring of mining and oil exports. Jallah further urged West Africa to present a united voice in international tax discussions.
“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,” he said.
On environmental taxation, CG Jallah called for a coordinated one green frontier approach to carbon, pollution and other environmental taxes to protect regional competitiveness, advance environmental goals and expand access to climate finance.
Commissioner General Jallah also underscored the growing importance of domestic resource mobilization amid declining development assistance, rising debt-service pressures and climate-related challenges across the region. He stressed that stronger domestic resource mobilization is critical to financing national priorities and sustainable development.
He urged development partners to increase support for regional tax infrastructure, including shared systems, common standards and institutions that strengthen cooperation among national revenue administrations.
The LRA boss 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,” he said.
The WATAF event, which runs from September 15–19, 2026, is being held under the theme, “Building Stronger Tax Administrations for Revenue Mobilisation and Sustainable Development.” It brings together heads of tax administrations, policymakers, regional institutions, development partners and other stakeholders to discuss tax administration, domestic resource mobilization and sustainable development across West Africa.
