Rwanda seeks to increase domestic tax revenue without necessarily raising tax rates, said Ronald Niwenshuti, Commissioner General of Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA). Niwenshuti argued that improving tax collection, taxpayer services and the systems used to administer taxes can help the country raise domestic revenues. ALSO READ: Inside RRA's plan to raise Rwf4.6tn He was speaking on Tuesday, September 22, at the 11th African Tax Research Network (ATRN) Congress in Kigali, which brought together researchers, tax administrators and policymakers to discuss tax policy and administration. Niwenshuti said the exchange of research and experiences from other tax authorities can help Rwanda identify areas where its tax system can be improved. “It is not always about increasing taxes. It can also be about how we collect taxes, how we can improve our services, the systems we use, and how we can make it easier for taxpayers to comply,” he said. “There could be a specific solution that helps us achieve greater domestic revenue self-reliance without necessarily increasing taxes. Some developed countries have already achieved this, and this is an opportunity for us to discuss these approaches and find a way forward.” He noted that Rwanda has yet to fully finance its budget through domestic taxes, making it important to learn from countries that have made progress in domestic revenue mobilisation. Rwanda seeks to raise its tax-to-GDP ratio from about 15 per cent to 19 per cent by 2029. ALSO READ: Tax revenue reaches Rwf4tn in 2025/26 fiscal year RRA reported Rwf3,956.4 billion in taxes collected for the central government and Rwf137.9 billion for local government entities in 2025/26. The tax authority targets Rwf4,640.4 billion in central government revenue and Rwf165.9 billion in local government revenue during the 2026/27. Yusuf Murangwa, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, said that every measure to achieve that is sequenced deliberately. It is phased over several fiscal years to avoid imposing sudden burdens on households and businesses. Each measure was chosen on the basis of analysis, he said. “Where the evidence did not support a measure, the measure was not taken. The measure was dropped. Where the evidence was incomplete, we commissioned work to complete it,” he said. Emeka Nwankwo, ATAF's Head of Domestic Tax and Capacity Enhancement, said African countries could raise significantly more revenue by improving the efficiency of existing tax systems. He said VAT accounts for about 30 per cent of tax revenue on average across the continent but most countries collect only about a third of their potential VAT revenue. He said the gap is partly linked to the difference between what is provided for in taxation laws and how they are implemented, as well as the ease of compliance and access to information. “Rwanda is one of the first movers of EBM (electronic billing machines) and has shown that EBM can work and how it can improve the tax system and even provide information to help the taxpayer and the revenue authority,” he added. Annet Oguttu, chairperson of the ATRN Advisory Board, said the decline in external development financing makes domestic revenue mobilisation increasingly important for African countries. She said countries need to strengthen their tax systems and understand the specific challenges affecting their revenue bases to offset the impact of shrinking external financing.
