Logan Wort has been at the helm of African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) as the Executive Secretary (CEO) for almost 15 years now. He stepped into this role in 2010, a year after ATAF was established. Under his strategic and visionary leadership, ATAF has evolved into a leading African tax organization and a global voice in tax administration.
As Logan is set to conclude his tenure as the Executive Secretary, he hopes to leave behind a legacy of integrity, strong ethical values, and pride in who and what they are as Africans. He also expects his legacy to be one of unity, shared innovation, and value creation for ATAF member countries, as well as strong representation in the global tax arena. Logan’s leadership, innovative ideas, and willingness to do the unexpected have made an indelible imprint on Africa’s tax administration. It will continue to influence and serve as a guide for years to come.
Stepping into Executive Secretary Role
The African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) came into existence in 2009. Logan recalls that at an African conference on Taxation, State Building, and Capacity Development, held in Pretoria, South Africa, they critically addressed and brought to the forefront the intersection between taxation, governance, and the development of state capacity amongst African countries. “Two stand out themes were the centrality of tax systems in the relationship between citizen and state, and the need for capacity building of tax administrations to increase their effectiveness in tax collection,” he points out. At the conference, a commitment was made to establish ATAF.
“This conference catalysed the need for an organisation that could provide wide-scale technical assistance to tax administrations around the continent and provide a platform for peer learning and exchange,” Logan says. It also mandated a group of seven African Heads of Tax Administrations as a Steering Group under the Chairmanship of South Africa to take forward the development of ATAF’s founding document.
Soon, in November 2009, ATAF was officially launched, with twenty-five African countries becoming its members. At the first council meeting, the then Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) was elected as the Chairperson, and South Africa became the permanent host seat of ATAF’s Secretariat. At the time, Logan, who was then the Group Executive at SARS, worked with a small team to implement the organisation’s proposed institutional framework.
In 2010, ATAF held its second council meeting, during which Logan was appointed Acting Executive Secretary. “This appointment was formalised in 2012 during the second General Assembly meeting in Dakar, Senegal,” Logan says.
According to him, his involvement in the process was driven by the shared vision of more effective tax administration across the continent. He also wanted to lead the way due to the opportunity to foster regional collaboration. Logan says that he recognised the extensive expertise and innovation amongst African nations in the area of taxation and saw an opportunity to enhance domestic resource mobilisation to support the financing of sustainable development across the continent.
Dealing with Challenges
Logan’s tenure as the Executive Secretary has not been challenge-free. He has faced both external obstacles and internal challenges. According to him, one of his biggest challenges was overcoming his own insecurities. For some times in his career, he suffered from imposter syndrome.
“My last three positions were all executive positions within environments that were not a part of my educational or previous work backgrounds,” he says. At the South African Treasury, he worked with economists, bankers, and public finance specialists, and at SARS – as well as at ATAF – he worked with tax experts of various fields. “I had to learn to stand my ground and be confident in what I brought to the team,” he says.
He was able to succeed because of his expertise in socio-political analyses, communication, and media. His understanding of the constituency of their work also proved to be an important factor in his success, in addition to his ability to plan, operate, and execute.
“It’s not always easy to overcome this sense of the other in a world of opinionated professionals such as economists and tax professionals,” Logan says. He now believes that a “strong sense of confidence” in one’s knowledge and abilities help one overcome insecurity.
Initially, at ATAF, the highly complex, technical concepts, structures, and legislative matters overwhelmed Logan. They also tested the endurance of his leadership. But then he quickly learned to “guide the best strategic use of excellent knowledge” from outstanding colleagues and to “develop a value chain of products, capacity, and results.” Logan says that most challenges can be overcome by focusing on the value proposition, good outcomes, and sound financial planning.
ATAF is a regional organisation representing a number of countries. So, it has to take into account the expectations of all the countries in a fair and balance way. For Logan, it was a challenge to build unity and support for the message that ATAF delivers to the international tax policy arena on behalf of its members.
Logan notes that in the last decade, international taxation has witnessed a rapid wave of reform, which has led to the need for greater representation of developing countries, especially African countries. “This has been especially true at the OECD Inclusive Framework on BEPS and under the proposed UN Tax Convention framework,” he adds. “The proposed UN Tax Convention has been an unprecedented demonstration of the progress that can be achieved by African countries when they come together with determination.”
Despite challenges, such as managing the high costs of participation, dealing with an enormous amount of highly technical documents, and meeting impossible turnaround times, Logan and his team have succeeded in making African voices heard. “While Africa did not receive the best deal, our participation secured significant value that would otherwise not have been there,” Logan says.
A Series of Achievements
Today, Africa and the world recognise ATAF’s impact and significance as a world-class tax organisation. Logan sees this as a major achievement in his career. He also regards ATAF’s inclusion on an increasing number of African and international platforms, along with its work on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, as a significant accomplishment. He is also proud to have been listed by the influential International Tax Review among the 10 most influential figures in global tax in 2022.
“There are also several milestones ATAF has achieved since its establishment in 2009 that have doubled up as my career milestones as the Executive Secretary,” Logan says. These include overseeing the establishment of ATAF over 15 years ago by working closely with key Heads of Tax Administrations and members of the ATAF Council.
ATAF’s partnership with the African Union Commission is another career milestone for Logan. The partnership, which officially began in 2020, advances the capacity building of tax administrations and jointly establishes measures to combat illicit financial flows. “This collaboration has been particularly instrumental in enhancing the African voice on tax matters in global discussions,” Logan says.
Additionally, he counts the establishment of a partnership with the African Development Bank as a significant milestone. This decade-long partnership, according to him, has driven the expansion of their technical assistance, knowledge sharing, and peer learning across the continent. Partnership with the OECD has also been crucial for ATAF, and it is another important achievement of Logan as the Executive Secretary. He also oversaw the outcome of their efforts to assist across the continent, which resulted in real revenue collected. “For instance, between 2019 and 2023, we have been engaged in a multi-year effort collaborative technical assistance program focused on mining taxation in Zambia,” he points out. Because of their targeted support, the Zambia Revenue Authority could enhance its international tax audit capabilities, with a focus on high-risk transfer pricing cases. Logan points out that so far, the improved legal framework and mining audit practices have contributed to the collection of USD 6 million in property transfer tax and USD 58 million in mining corporate income tax revenue between 2020 and 2022.
Logan also sees it as a major accomplishment that their global donors and development partners continue to believe in their value proposition and stand by them.
Initiatives and Programmes Implemented by ATAF
One of the most talked-about ATAF’s initiatives is the Country Assistance Programme. Logan explains that it has enabled them to support 35 member countries with full technical assistance in tax legislative reform, administration modernisation, and audit capacity.
Under his leadership, ATAF has also published a plethora of advisories and guidelines on different tax policy and administration topics, such as Transfer Pricing, VAT, and Digital Services tax. And, with the help of their technical staff, they have been able to deliver real-time audit and legislative support. They have helped train their member countries as well. Logan says that in 2023, this enabled additional tax assessments amounting to USD39.2 million. And USD 17.7 million was successfully collected from transfer pricing audits.
“From 2016 to date, cumulative additional tax assessments have amounted to an impressive USD 5.1 billion, with USD 2.2 billion collected from transfer pricing audits,” Logan informs.
Today, Logan’s team is overseeing the development of an IT system for the automatic exchange of information between tax jurisdictions. “We have several platforms and ongoing projects that ensure we remain aligned with the practical realities for tax officials across Africa,” Logan says.
The Future and Priorities
Over the years, ATAF has built strong relationships with its members and responded immediately and effectively to their requests for support. This has set an example for other regional organisations. ATAF has also earned a reputation for being reliable. Logan believes that going forward, it will be necessary to have a unified approach to highlighting the needs of tax administrations in different forums, including the African Union, the African Continental Free Trade Area, and the sub-regional trade unions, as well as global forums. He also expects shared innovation to be foundational to pushing forward even the least digitally transformed or modern administrations on the continent. And, according to him, strong representation will be key to overseeing the inclusion and prioritisation of the needs of Africa in all global forums.
Logan wants ATAF to broaden its scope of work and scale up significantly the volume and depth of its reach and impact. Over the next ten years, he foresees a tenfold increase in volume and budget, along with a larger contribution to Africa’s overall tax-to-GDP growth.
Additionally, Logan predicts exponential growth in their Country Assistance Programmes, Academy, and their Research and Statistical capability. “Our work in policy, standard setting, and reform strategies will become more intense,” he says. Also, he expects ATAF’s partnership with the African Union and the African Development Bank to become stronger. He believes there will be a significant increase in their work with Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA) as well.
ATAF is set to evolve into a self-sustaining organisation over the next five years, according to Logan. He expects them to facilitate the collaboration between countries, enabling their digitalisation journey in addition to building technical expertise and producing evidence-based research.
As for strategic priority, Logan and his team are currently focused on establishing a tax technology innovation hub, where joint development of systems and sharing of technical expertise can happen. “This would set a new model for technical assistance where our countries are part and parcel of the process,” he points out.
Key Qualities of a Leader
Logan is seen as an empowering and decisive leader because he understands his constituency, its needs and demands, and its fears and challenges. He also knows his facts, issues, case studies, impacts, and difficulties with examples, and always keeps his arguments statistical and evidence-based.
Additionally, he has a deep understanding of international cooperation in its general form, pace, process, and tendency to compromise and coercion. Along with that, he is known for having a great sense of diplomacy and is politically aware, which according to him are qualities required to have productive conversations with different players on issues important to his constituency.
Logan believes that an important element of an effective leader is familiarity with subject matter, which in his case is the tax landscape and its constituent parts, such as tax administration, policy, and the key drivers of taxation that impact his constituency. “It’s also important for the leader to add to the agenda and not just participate in it,” he adds. “This is to make sure the agenda is relevant to my constituency.”
“I have often found that when we, as Africans, walk into the room, we are only asked to contribute to capacity-building needs and financial support,” Logan points out. As the Executive Secretary of ATAF, he has successfully changed that narrative.
Message to Aspiring Leaders
“Put in the ten thousand hours” is Logan’s advice to aspiring leaders who want to make an impact in tax administration and international affairs. He encourages them to make an effort to become experts in their field of work and continuously improve.
“For young African leaders, it is especially important to turn the stereotypes and preconceived notions others have into your opportunity to be bold and brave,” he adds. “Make sure to understand your tax landscape and contemporary discourse.”
