Tax Us if You Can: Why Africa Should Stand Up for Tax Justice

This short introduction to issues of tax justice explains the meaning and causes of tax injustice and offers options for a better future. Providing insight into the specific failures of Africa’s tax system—and the associated problems of capital flight, tax evasion, tax avoidance, and tax competition—this book explores the role of governments, parliaments, and taxpayers, and asks how stakeholders can help achieve tax justice. Arguing that tax revenues are essential for establishing independent states of free citizens, it demonstrates how the “tax consensus” promoted by multilateral agencies, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, has influenced tax policy in Africa and led to a reduction in government revenues in many countries.