It was attended by the heads and senior officials of 31 African tax administrations and 25 countries formally signed the agreement which formally established ATAF. South Africa’s Commissioner, Oupa Magashula, was elected as the first chair of the ATAF Council and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) will also act as the permanent host of ATAF’s secretariat.

As stated in the official Kampala Communiqué, “ATAF is African led, managed and primarily supported through the expertise, resources and financial contributions of its Members. As an African initiative, it will work towards achieving increased financial independence for African countries.”

Given its own vision and mission, it is hoped that the ATI will maintain a fruitful and mutually beneficial relationship with ATAF. As a first step, ATAF will collaborate with the ATI and the International Tax and Investment Center (ITIC) in the upcoming conference on Indirect Tax Coordination, VAT and Excise Taxation in Africa – to be held from 24-26 February 2010 in Cape Town, South Africa.