RELX helps transform Ethiopia's tax landscape and lay the foundation for sustainable growth

 

Launch event for the consolidated tax laws at RELX Headquarters in London with Ian Glencross, Mai Trinh, Marcia Balisciano, Paul Walker,

Ambassador Lalisa Birhanu, Dominic Mathon, Nick Luff, Lisa Mackie and Jon Scriven 

 

11th December 2024 marked an important moment in Ethiopia’s economic development with the publication of the consolidated tax laws in English and Amharic for the first time in Ethiopia’s history.

Over the last three years, the LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation, LexisNexis South Africa and RELX Tax have worked closely on a pro bono basis with Ethiopia’s government to translate tax laws from Amharic into English, to consolidate the Ethiopian tax laws in both English and Amharic, and to ensure they are published and freely accessible on the websites of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Revenue, and Customs Commission.

The consolidated tax laws can be accessed here and can be found under ‘Resources’ and ‘Consolidated tax laws’.

 

 

 

Consolidated tax laws in both Amharic and English powered by LexisNexis

There were twin launch events to celebrate this special occasion hosted by the Ethiopia Ministry of Finance in Addis Ababa and by RELX in London, bringing together government representatives from Ethiopia and the UK, non-governmental institutions including the Ethiopian, European and Chinese Chambers of Commerce, and institutions such as the International Centre for Tax and Development.

 

 

Inauguration ceremony for the consolidated tax laws at Ethiopia Ministry of Finance in Addis Ababa  

In his opening speech at the inauguration ceremony in Addis Ababa, Honourable Dr Eyob Tekalign, State Minister of Fiscal Policy and Public Finance, Ministry of Finance Ethiopia, explained that “the fact that the tax laws are translated and organised in English and made accessible to the user on the website is of great importance to the efforts of Ethiopia to accelerate its growth and development according to the macroeconomic reform and to become a member of the World Trade Organization.”

 

 

The coverage of the launch of the consolidated tax laws in Addis Ababa was covered by Ethiopian TV and is also available on Youtube. 

Tewedaj Mehammed Juber, Director of Legal Affairs Directorate at the Ministry of Finance, provided the context that “significant challenges have long hindered the full potential of Ethiopia’s tax system, with some tax legislation, in particular tax directives, in the past only being available in Amharic and not English and hence a considerable linguistic divide existed.  This resulted in ambiguity and uncertainty, particularly for international investors and multinational corporations.” 

 

 

Ambassador Lalisa Birhanu at RELX headquarters in London 

At the launch event in London, Ambassador Lalisa Birhanu, Deputy Head of Mission, Ethiopia, explained that  “Ethiopia initiated a bold and strategic partnership with the LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation in 2022 with the objective of enhancing accessibility, transparency and efficiency. The effects of this initiative are already evident.  It cultivates a more welcoming environment for foreign direct investment by enhancing the accessibility and clarity of our tax laws.  The availability of tax laws in English bolsters Ethiopia’s capacity to engage with the global community, solidifying the country’s commitment to transparent and inclusive governance.”

 

 

Nick Luff, CFO at RELX and Ambassador Lalisa Birhanu 

The initiative is part of LexisNexis’s deep commitment to advancing the rule of law and its work through the LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation. Terry Jennings, Vice President and Treasurer of the LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation, explained more about the foundation and its mission at the inauguration ceremony in Addis Ababa: “The rule of law is the core mission and vision of LexisNexis.  There are four key elements of the rule of law: transparency of the law, access to legal remedy, equal treatment under the law, and independent judiciaries.  The tax law consolidation project in Ethiopia primarily advances transparency”. 

 

 

Terry Jennings, LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation and Tewedaj Mehammed Juber, Ministry of Finance

She went on to say that “The World Bank has taken a strong interest in this work, and they have decided to make this Ethiopian work the start of what will be a full continent access to tax information available for free in one location to be built and managed by LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation.”

Lisa Mackie, Head of East Africa department at the UK Government’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, whose colleagues played a vital role in helping RELX connect with the Ethiopian government and provided great insights about the landscape in Ethiopia, commented that “If I look across Africa beyond Ethiopia today, the potential that this kind of project could bring to transparency and to improve the environment and the clarity of the tax regime is genuinely exciting.  There could be a huge potential there”. 

 

 

Jon Scriven, LexisNexis and Lisa Mackie, UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office

As Head of Tax Risk, Reporting and Reputation at RELX, it has been a tremendous pleasure and privilege to initiate the project and see it come to fruition.  I would like to thank the wonderful project team, Tewedaj Mehammed Juber and Abraham Rega from the Ministry of Finance Ethiopia, Terry Jennings from the LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation, Michelle Guy and Nikesh Ramlutchman from LexisNexis South Africa, and Ian Glencross from RELX Tax.  As Ambassador Lalisa Birhanu puts it, this project “transcends geographical and linguistic boundaries and exemplifies the strength of collaboration, innovation, and shared principles”.  I am really excited that we are now at the dawn of a transformation of the tax landscape not just for Ethiopia, but also for the whole of Africa.