Bulawayo, Zimbabwe — African countries are exploring ways to tax high-earning individuals as the continent seeks to expand its revenue collection amid what experts say is a growing gulf between rich and poor.
The numbers are staggering.
According to Oxfam, "the richest 5 percent in Africa now hold nearly USD 4 trillion in wealth, more than double the combined wealth of the remaining 95 percent of the continent's population."
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In its 2025 report on the rise of Africa's super-rich, Oxfam found that "Africa's richest billionaires hold USD 57.4 billion in wealth -- more than the combined wealth of 750 million people, or half the continent's population."
The agency continues, "An extra 1 percent tax on wealth and 10 percent tax on income of Africa's richest 1 percent could raise $66 billion annually, more than enough to close the funding gaps for free quality education and universal access to electricity."
Against these figures, some agencies say the African government must act to tap into this vast wealth through taxation.
The African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), in guidelines issued last week, says a new tax regime targeting high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) will allow African countries to expand their tax base that will help fund critical public sectors.
This is happening at a time international and bilateral support from developed countries is shrinking, and the proposed new taxation aimed at high earners seeks to address these funding gaps.
According to ATAF, the guidelines "seek to reflect African realities while also connecting to global debate on equity and fairness in taxation".
In recent years, with the global rapid rise of billionaires, rich countries have faced push-back from high earners who oppose taxes for HNWIs, while African countries have seen the working classes carrying the burden as the largest tax revenue base.
While Africa's super-rich have not been as vocal as their Western counterparts in opposing targeted taxation, the exponential growth of high-earning individuals has not gone unnoticed.
According to researchers, Africa will see a 65 percent jump in the number of millionaires in the coming decade and is already home to 122,500 millionaires and 25 billionaires.
Amid such a burst of wealth, experts say the potential by African governments to fund public services through domestic revenue collection remains untapped.
The continent needs to move "beyond coercive, inequitable tax practices--like taxing low-income earners to compensate for elite evasion--is essential for development," researchers contend.
ATAF says the continent's tax administrators must look into this demographic to offer "structured pathways to improve identification, monitoring and taxation of high-net-worth individuals in Africa" and this will form an important part of the continent's domestic resource mobilisation.
"Effective taxation of high-net-worth individuals can assist African countries in broadening their tax base, improve equity within tax systems and mobilise the domestic resources needed to finance development priorities," said Mary Baine, ATAF executive director, in remarks accompanying the taxation guidelines.
The guidelines are based on research conducted by the ATAF in several African countries on how to implement an effective tax regime for high-net-worth individuals.
The Forum identified South Africa, Eswatini, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius and Uganda as the few countries that have structures in place for taxing high earners.
"In Africa, the contribution of wealthy individuals to overall tax revenues remains relatively limited," Baine said.
In a continent where the bulk of low-income earners are in the informal sector, where governments have struggled to collect taxes, the formal economy has offered limited income taxation, and targeting high-net-worth individuals is expected to provide solutions to persistent public funding gaps.
However, ATAF also noted that the "ability of a tax administration to effectively identify and monitor HNWIs does not only depend on access to relevant datasets but also on the automation and integration of IT systems. Without robust digital infrastructure, even the most valuable data remains fragmented and underutilised."
This concern also emerged at the 58th Session of the Conference of African Ministers of Finance in Morocco on 2 April, where the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa executive secretary Claver Gatete said African countries must do more to harness digital spaces towards the continent's economic growth.
"Deliberate policies to ensure that African countries retain and capture value from their data through effective governance frameworks, regulatory systems and digital taxation mechanisms," Gatete said, as concerns remain regarding Africa's missed revenue collection opportunities
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ATAF says "persistent gaps remain, such as inconsistent legal provisions, weak access to third-party data, fragmented IT systems, political interference and limited specialised skills" to effectively tax high-income earners.
Amid resistance from the super-rich to be taxed more, the ATAF warns that the "taxation of HNWIs must be framed as an issue of fairness and equity, ensuring that the wealthiest contribute proportionately to national development alongside ordinary citizens."
Meanwhile, the African Development Bank (AfDB) is financing tax revenue collection efforts across the continent as part of efforts to boost domestic revenue collection.
Last month, the AfDB signed a USD5.52 million grant with the West African Tax Administration, whose jurisdiction covers the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in a move expected to boost efforts being championed by ATAF.
"Strengthening tax administration is essential for creating the fiscal space that will enable countries to finance their development priorities," said Abdul B. Kamara, AfDB Director for Nigeria.
IPS UN Bureau Report
