Date
Tax Justice Network Africa will be participating in the World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring and Annual Meetings 2024 taking place in Washington DC, USA from April 15-20, 2024.
The World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings serve as a platform for central bankers, ministers of finance and development, parliamentarians, private sector executives, representatives from civil society organisations and academics to discuss issues of global concern, including the world economic outlook, poverty eradication, economic development, and aid effectiveness.
The meetings are traditionally held in Washington, D.C., two years out of three and, to reflect the international character of the two institutions, every third year in a different member country.
The theme for the program of events this year will be “Vision to Impact.”
Civil society engagements have become an integral part of the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. TJNA will be using this platform to dialogue and exchange views with key stakeholders on key issues such as reforms of the financial architecture, taxing the wealthy, illicit financial flows, and debt from Africa’s perspective.
TJNA will be participating in the programmes as follows;
Session: The path for taxing billionaires – towards a global wealth taxation agenda
Date/Time: Wednesday 17 April 4.00 - 5.45 pm, Washington DC
Location: IMF HQ2-03B-768B
Organised by TJNA, Oxfam, Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation (ICRICT), The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Center for Economic and Social Rights. The session will present why it is time for a new global agenda on taxing the wealthiest and the potential impacts on inequality, social trust, and revenue mobilisation. It will further highlight the need for international coordination for setting more consistent standards to also address tax avoidance and tax competition. It will also discuss how the IMF can support a global agenda on taxing the wealthiest led by the G20 while domestic initiatives to boost revenues and economic growth are also encouraged, as an alternative to austerity measures.
Session: The G20 Common Framework: A Path to Sustainable Debt Management in Africa?
Date/Time: Thursday, 18 April 2024, 10 am, Washington DC
Location: Hotel Lombardy 2019 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006, United States
This session is organised by Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Imani Africa, Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA), and African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD). On the back of recent crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, African economies have been affected economically leading to economic disruptions and increased debt levels across the continent. To address these challenges, African countries are turning to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for bailouts and seeking debt restructuring under the G20's Common Framework for Debt Treatment. The session will present cases that will offer valuable opportunities to learn from each other and assess the effectiveness of the Common Framework for Debt Treatment in achieving sustainable debt management in Africa. This session also aims to also analyse key insights from some case studies experiences such as Kenya, Zambia and Ghana and identify conditions necessary for successful multilateral interventions, while also highlighting local political barriers such as transparency, governance accountability, corruption, and alignment with long-term planning.
Session: Debt and illicit financial flows are worsening inequality in Africa
Date/Time: Friday, 19th April 2024, 12 PM –1:30 pm, Washington DC
Location: Washington, DC
This session is organised by Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA), and OXFAM. It will unpack how Africa grapples with deepening debt, inequality, and illicit financial flows, enhanced by corporate power, which is hindering progress towards Agenda 2063 and the sustainable development goals. It will also unpack how current debt, taxation, and austerity policies worsen inequality and risk reversing decades of development gains, threatening political stability. The session will further highlight why advocating against international financial institutions, is crucial to combatting harmful austerity measures amid global crises.
For more information about our participation at the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings 2024, please contact fotiato[at] taxjusticeafrica.net