Rwanda is set to host this year’s International Tax Dialogue (ITD), a conference that is slated to start Wednesday April 22.

The Commissioner for Domestic Taxes in Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA), Pierre Celestin Bumbakare, yesterday confirmed that the conference will be attended by senior tax officials from 46 countries across Africa.

"Apparently, tax Commissioners, administrators and policymakers from 36 countries have already confirmed attendance. Representatives from bilateral and multilateral organisations that deal with tax issues are also expected,” Bumbakare said.

The ITD conference is a collaborative arrangement involving the European Union, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), UK-Department for International Development (DFID) and the World Bank Group.

The conference is aimed at encouraging and facilitating discussions of tax matters among national tax officials, international organizations and a range of other key stakeholders.

"The conference will emphasize more on sharing experience on taxation of small and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and learn from some of the success stories,” Bumbakare said.

He added that the meeting will also consider any future risks and lay down fundamental opportunities of how they can continue to share knowledge and experience in this area to maximize gains.

"Members of the public are welcome to attend at participate in this conference since it regards them; so far we are expecting about 80 delegates from across the continent,” added Bumbakare.

The platform is also expected to provide attendants with opportunity to deliberate on the issues of taxation, state building and capacity development in Africa and take stock of the progress made, challenges faced and a possible new direction for African tax policy and administration.

The previous International Tax Dialogue conference was held last year in Pretoria, South Africa where Rwanda Revenue Authority was hailed for its contribution made by the Commissioners of the Revenue Administration in developing a quick and conducive taxation climate.

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