Give tax relief for gifts to audited local charities, and compare rules across Africa

Why this matters

Foreign money for civic groups is shrinking and becoming legally risky. Uganda's sovereignty law carries prison sentences of up to ten years. Zimbabwe's 2025 NGO law lets the state strike off groups it sees as partisan. Ethiopia proposes to bar foreign-funded groups from election work. Groups that depend on foreign money are therefore exposed in law as well as in their budgets.

Money exists at home. Africa has 122,500 millionaires and 25 billionaires. Yet African donors sent 41% of their large gifts to governments. Tax relief can steer more of that giving to independent local groups.

Relief is uneven across the continent. Nigeria's 2025 tax law lets companies deduct gifts up to 10% of profit before tax, with no matching rule for individuals. Ghana lets individuals deduct gifts. Kenya's 2024 rules allow deductions for gifts to approved charities, with conditions. Mauritius takes a different path and makes profitable companies set aside 2% of taxable income for social causes. It sends 75% of that money to a state foundation. A comparison would show each treasury what works elsewhere and what it costs.

Four levels of action

1. 1

   What Africa asks of the world

   The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) sets global rules against money laundering and the funding of terrorism. In November 2023 it revised its rule on non-profits to discourage blanket restrictions. It should apply that revision in every review of an African country. Governments could then no longer cite FATF rules to justify blanket limits on money for non-profits.

   Who

   The FATF and its African regional bodies

   When

   FATF meeting, Paris, 26 to 30 October 2026

2. 2

   What the African Union does

   The African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), which brings together African tax authorities, adds a section on giving to its African Tax Outlook data. It compares how much each country lets donors deduct, who may receive gifts, how receipts are reported and what relief costs. African philanthropy networks draft a model tax provision that any government can copy.

   Who

   ATAF, with African philanthropy networks

   When

   Model provision at the African Philanthropy Forum, Cape Town, 25 to 27 October 2026; first comparison in 2027

3. 3

   What regional groups do

   The Southern African Development Community (SADC) adds tax relief for giving to the database its members already keep on tax exemptions and incentives. The councils of finance ministers in the East African Community and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) circulate the model provision. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger remain in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), which can carry the text to them. The decision itself stays with each government.

   Who

   SADC, the East African Community, ECOWAS and WAEMU

   When

   By June 2027

4. 4

   Which country goes first, and why

   Kenya goes first. Its Public Benefit Organisations Act took effect on 14 May 2024 with a new regulator, and its 2024 rules already allow some deductions. The finance bill must pass before the financial year begins on 1 July 2027, which gives a fixed date for a decision.

   Who

   Kenya's National Treasury and the Kenya Revenue Authority

   When

   Receipt reporting designed by March 2027; the provision included in the 2027 finance bill

Before another country can do this

• A register of approved public-benefit organisations.
• A revenue authority able to receive reports of receipts electronically.
• Audit standards that local organisations can meet.
• A treasury estimate of how much revenue the relief would cost.

What does not carry over from the first country

• South Africa has years of practice with relief for gifts and with reporting receipts.
• Kenya's public-benefit law and regulator are new, and other countries may lack both.
• Mauritius's compulsory levy sends most of the money through a state foundation, so it does not build independent giving.

Who else is ready

Has this worked before?

South Africa lets donors deduct gifts to approved public-benefit organisations up to 10% of taxable income, and carries any excess to later years. Since May 2024, every approved organisation must report each tax receipt to the revenue service. This answers the treasury's concern that relief could be misused. Source (opens in a new tab)

South African Revenue Service: guide to tax deductions for gifts

First steps

1. African Union levelAfrican philanthropy networks present the model provision at the African Philanthropy Forum in Cape Town, 25 to 27 October 2026, and ask ATAF to add a section on giving by mid-2027.
2. Regional groupsSADC finance ministries add tax relief for giving to the members' tax database by June 2027.
3. Kenyathe National Treasury and the Kenya Revenue Authority design receipt reporting on the South African model by March 2027, and include it in the 2027 finance bill.

Who acts, and with what

Who leads

National treasuries decide; ATAF compares; SADC, the East African Community and ECOWAS bring the rules into line

Instrument

Provisions in national finance bills, a continental comparison in the African Tax Outlook, and a regional model text

How progress is checked

Relief passed into law in Kenya in 2027 and in at least two more countries by 2028

Signal to change course

New limits on foreign funding pass while no country passes tax relief for giving

What stands in the way

Treasuries worry about lost revenue and misuse of relief. Governments that distrust civil society may resist any measure that funds it. Kenya's system for public-benefit organisations is still being built.

Cost and money

No treasury has yet estimated the revenue cost, and each should do so before a bill is tabled. A cap like South Africa's 10% limits the cost.

Who else contributes

What each audience can do