LRA Commissioner General Pushes For Deeper Regional Tax Integration

ACCRA, Ghana —  Liberia Revenue Authority Commissioner General James Dorbor Jallah is calling for stronger integration among West African tax administrations, saying regional cooperation must now go beyond information sharing to address increasingly interconnected trade, finance and digital commerce.

Jallah made the call Wednesday at the 8th West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF) High-Level Policy Dialogue and 23rd General Assembly in Accra, where tax officials and policymakers are discussing ways to strengthen revenue mobilization and support sustainable development.

He said the growing integration of economies across West Africa requires tax administrations to develop stronger common systems and approaches.

“The taxpayer has integrated. The question before us is whether the tax administrator will integrate too,” Jallah said.

Drawing on Liberia’s experience with WATAF, the LRA Commissioner General said regional cooperation has helped strengthen the country’s tax administration.

“Liberia's story is, in a real sense, the WATAF story: an administration made stronger by belonging,” he said.

Jallah outlined what he described as four areas for deeper regional integration: a common tax rulebook, shared tax data systems, coordinated action against illicit financial flows and a regional approach to environmental taxation.

He called for greater harmonization of tax rules, particularly in areas such as transfer pricing, tax treaties and the taxation of the digital economy.

On data sharing, Jallah urged tax administrations to strengthen cross-border information exchange and develop secure systems that can connect customs records, beneficial ownership information and other tax data.

He also called for coordinated efforts to address illicit financial flows, including stronger information sharing, improved customs valuation and closer monitoring of mining and oil exports.

According to Jallah, West Africa should also have a stronger collective voice in international tax negotiations.

“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.

The LRA boss further advocated a coordinated regional approach to environmental taxation, covering areas such as carbon and pollution taxes, which he said could help protect regional competitiveness while supporting environmental goals and access to climate finance.

Jallah said stronger domestic resource mobilization has become increasingly important as countries face declining development assistance, growing debt-service obligations and climate-related pressures.

He also encouraged development partners to support regional tax infrastructure, including shared systems, common standards and institutions that can improve cooperation among national revenue authorities.

As WATAF looks ahead to its next phase, Jallah urged member countries to build on the forum’s first 15 years by pursuing 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 meetings run from September 15–19, 2026, under the theme “Building Stronger Tax Administrations for Revenue Mobilisation and Sustainable Development.” The gathering brings together heads of tax administrations, policymakers, regional institutions, development partners and other stakeholders.