Cowater International is hiring a National Tax Policy Specialist.
The Government of Mozambique (GoM) had overseen impressive economic growth and poverty reduction for a sustained period after the civil war, which ended in 1992, however this stalled in 2017. This was due to a financial and debt crisis caused in part by undisclosed illegal loans and subsequent suspension of general budget support and the IMF country programme. While the macroeconomic situation has stabilized since the crisis, successive cyclones and the COVID-19 crisis have exacerbated public finance constraints even further, making the need for efficient and equitable domestic resource mobilization critical.
The exploitation of major natural gas reserves is likely to boost GDP and government revenues in the medium term, although investments in these gas fields have suffered a series of recent setbacks and delays, and expectations of future revenue need to be managed.
Mozambique underwent a series of reforms to the taxation system with the creation of an independent revenue authority in 2006; however there has been no major revision of tax policy in the last decade.
Mozambique has one of the highest tax to GDP ratios in the SSA region, in fact in 2019, tax-to-GDP was registered as 25.32% (including capital gains)[1]; the SSA average for 2017 being 15.64%[2]. In terms of the outturn for 2019, Mozambique registered an above target collection of tax revenue – achieving the target by 113.13%. The split between domestic taxes and trade taxes is approximately 75% and 25%, respectively.
However, in order to maintain this performance, there is a need to establish a more comprehensive approach to tax policy to ensure that it is coherent with the development objectives of the country, including concerns around the business environment, tax incidence and gender and social inclusion.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) has expressed to the UK Government its desire to ensure increased tax revenues allied with considerations for widening the tax base, determining efficient rates for various taxes, and alignment of the tax policy with national development objectives for inclusive growth. Objectives of any tax reform will, according to the MEF, need to focus on improving the business environment, stimulation of investment, production and job creation, as well as reducing informality and combating evasion. In order to design a tax policy that comprehensively responds to these concerns, MEF needs the analytical capacity to study these issues, formulate policy proposals, and draft any legal instruments that result from tax policy decisions.
While the mandate for definition of overall tax policy lies with the MEF, due to limited capacity policy has been made at times by the revenue authority, or in an ad hoc and unsystematic way. Capacity therefore needs to be increased within the MEF in order for it to wholly fulfill its role as tax policy maker, while enabling the Revenue Authority to carry out its mandate as the implementer of such policy. In order to build the capacity of the MEF to do this, robust technical assistance over a significant period, to ensure absorption, is required.
The GoM has therefore requested the UK Government to support ongoing resident technical assistance on tax policy (covering analysis, forecasting methods, support to definition of a coherent approach to tax policy across all taxes, and drafting of resulting policies and legal instruments, and strengthening of the link between policy and implementation). The principal focus of the tax policy support would be the Department of Economic Policy and Development (DEPD); however support may also be required to the legal department with regard to drafting of legal instruments to reflect changes in policy.
This role is an integral part of a FCDO–funded technical assistance programme to support domestic resource mobilization in Mozambique – the Taxing Efficiently for Developing Inclusively (TEDI) project. The FCDO has committed £8million over 5 years, with £5million reserved for technical assistance accompanied by a £3 million procurement fund to support capacity-building activities.
The overall objective of TEDI is to contribute to strengthening economic management for inclusive growth, by assisting the GoM in raising tax revenues efficiently and equitably, and increasing tax compliance. This requires support principally to the Revenue Authority and the MEF.
These three outputs are organized into three main pillars of work – i) tax administration, ii) tax policy and iii) customs administration. Gender and Social Inclusion, Extractives Industries, and response to and recovery from the COVID 19 pandemic are considered cross-cutting issues.
The main focus of the National Tax Policy Specialist will be to contribute to Output 3 under the guidance of an International Tax Policy Specialist, however his/her collaboration with other members of the TEDI team working on the other outputs will be important.
If the restrictions due to COVID-19 prevent the International Tax Policy Specialist from coming, the National Specialist will be responsible for acting as the liaison between the International Specialist and DNPED, and the national technical staff allocated to the team. He/she will also be responsible for representing the project and coordinating the day-to-day work under the guidance of the International Specialist until he/she arrives.
The National Specialist will be based in the Directorate of Economic Policy and Development (DEPD), together with a resident International Tax Policy Specialist and the technical staff of the DNPED. The team may, at a later stage, be converted into a Tax Policy Unit, depending on the aspirations of the MEF. Whether or not a Tax Policy Unit is established, the Specialist is expected to carry out all activities in an inclusive manner, in coordination with the DNPED staff assigned to the project, with a view to enhancing knowledge transfer and capacity building.
The main initiatives and responsibilities include supporting the international tax policy specialist in:
Additionally, the National Expert is expected to provide input into the following activities, under the guidance of the International Expert:
A detailed work plan will be developed in collaboration with the MEF and the specialists to establish the sequencing of the above activities.
As a general guideline, the MEF foresees:
Key performance indicators (KPIs) shall be agreed with the Specialist as soon as his/her work plan is completed.
JOB REQUIREMENTS
The National Specialist shall report to the International Specialist and the Director of DEPD on his/her daily work. As far as the project is concerned, the national expert shall report to the TEDI project team leader.
The national specialist will undergo quarterly performance reviews by his/her line manager and TEDI project manager. Information will be collected from the rest of the team at DEPD, including the Director of DEPD and government staff assigned to the project. Performance reports will be shared with the Project Director, the Project Manager and the Team Leader for joint discussion. The TEDI Programme Director will decide on the final outcome of the performance management process according to:
This is a full-time position, equivalent to 220 days a year.
APPLICATION PROCESS