Technical Assistance for Operationalization of Tax Policy Unit — The Gambia Fiscal Management Development Project

Name of Project: The Gambia Fiscal Management Development Project (P166695)

Grant No.: IDA-D6190

Assignment Title: Recruitment of an Individual Consultant to provide Technical Assistance for supporting the operationalization and building the capacity of the Ministry of Finance Tax Policy Unit.

Reference No. GM-PPPPE-297960-CS-INDV

Background:

The formulation of Tax Policy falls under the mandate of the Directorate of Economic Policy and Research at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs. The Gambia is ranked near the bottom in ECOWAS and Sub-Saharan Africa averages for tax revenue performance (average tax to GDP ratio of 10.5 percent over last three years) , largely owing to a narrow tax base, inadequate and generous tax incentive instruments that erodes the tax base. In addressing this, a dedicated team with the requisite capacity to enhance revenue performance through well-crafted tax policy design and tax regimes will be critical to the fiscal transition agenda. In addition to these internal challenges, The Gambia is a signatory to a series of regional trade and customs harmonization treaties and protocols—ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS); African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA); double taxation treaties, and Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU that could erode the tax base through the elimination of duties and other taxes. These, protocols and treaties have put a strain on domestic revenue mobilization and have brought to light the need for a more resilient inward looking tax policy regime that will form the basis for tax policy planning and management going forward.

In that, a Tax Policy Unit was created within the context of a broad-based fiscal reform strategy to support the Directorate of Economic Policy with a dedicated team that will handle the affairs of tax policy planning and formulation.

The Unit will be responsible for the following functions:

• Guiding general tax design and associated public consultations;
• Performing revenue and economic impact analyses of existing taxes and tax proposals;
• Tax revenue monitoring and forecasting;
• Implementation of the Tax Expenditure Policy;
• Preparing tax expenditure assessments (identification, costing, and reporting);
• Undertaking various tax analyses – economic impact, distributional, cost-benefit and tax indicator analysis;
• Leading data collection and analysis efforts;
• Initiating, participating and overseeing manifestation of tax policy content during legal drafting processes and – in the longer run –
• Provide support to tax treaty negotiating teams.

RATIONALE:

To this end, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs is seeking the services of a Tax Policy Adviser to support the operationalization of the Tax Policy Unit with a focus on creating an operational structure; workflow design and management for the unit; and building the capacity of staff within the unit. This will improve the effectiveness of tax policy design, implementation, monitoring and reporting.

Description of the Position:

• Position title: Long Term Resident Technical Assistance (Tax Policy Advisor)
• Duration: 2 years (first year contract with 3 months’ probation period and possibility for renewal following satisfactory performance)

• Location: Banjul, The Gambia
• Expected start date: October 2022

Responsibilities:

The Technical Assistant will support the implementation of activities with the following specific responsibilities:

• • Conduct a comprehensive review of the existing system, reports and policies within the Directorate.
• Assist in the development of a medium-term Domestic Resource Mobilization Strategy and rules (laws).
• Provide advice and inputs to any reform studies undertaken by the unit
• Develop a proposal for a comprehensive medium-term strategy and implementation roadmap for the Unit.
• Conduct an assessment of the capacity of the Unit’s staff and identify key areas of capacity building interventions.
• Facilitate trainings or workshops on specific tax policy issues for Unit staff and key counterparts.
• Develop templates for monitoring and reporting on tax policy design and administration.
• Provide guidance to staff on all functions of the unit as detailed above
• Provide the Unit with required support to collaborate with the Statistics Forecasting Unit (SFU) in the Revenue forecasting process. The revenue forecasting will look to provide a baseline of tax receipts over the budget cycle for a given set of policy parameters and predict revenues under proposed tax law amendments relative to current law (revenue impact analysis).
• Support the unit staff to carry out revenue analysis, with a focus on tax expenditure and revenue projections and gradually enhance this to cover more tax and revenue analytical products.
• Support the unit to carry out periodic revenue performance analysis and disseminate selected information publicly. This may include tax analysis working papers and aggregated tax statistics (for example, revenue structure, sectors’ revenue contributions, and distributional analyses).
• Work with the unit to develop a National tax policy document.
• Any other function as assigned by the Director or authorized supervisor.

SELECTION CRITERIA - QUALIFICATION AND EXPEREINECE:

It is expected that the consultant will meet the following qualifications:

• Advanced qualifications in economics, public finance, public policy, law or related areas from a reputable institution.
• At least 15 years’ experience in, and significant technical knowledge of tax policy analysis, including in developing country contexts.
• Strong economic analytical skills and demonstrated ability to produce high-quality tax policy strategy documents
• Demonstrated capacity to deliver complex tax policy reforms, including sensitivity to the political economy environment, with experience in West Africa or emerging/developing countries desirable.
• Experience in the practical planning and executing tax policy analysis and change activities.
• Proven ability and experience in capacity building in the area of tax policy
• Experience in setting up a tax policy unit within government desirable
• Strong relationship management skills, particularly in dealing with the most senior government officials, and ability to operate effectively and sensitively in a cross-cultural environment.
• High-level communication skills (verbal, written and presentational) in English desirable.
• Innovative, flexible, result-oriented and proactive work culture The Consultant (Individual) shall provide abridged CV(s) (of no more than three pages of A4 size).

At a minimum, the resumes of the person should include the following: name, education, training, technical experience, functional experience, specific dates and names of employers, relevant and related experience, past and present projects with dates and responsibilities and any applicable certifications.

Submission Requirements:

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs (MoFEA) through the Gambia Fiscal Management Development Project, now invites eligible individual consultants to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Individual Consultant should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services.

The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to Section III, paragraphs, 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers” July dated July 2016 and revised November 2017 and August 2018 (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.

A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Individual Consultant’s Selection Method (IC) set out in the Consultant Guidelines. Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours from 09:00 to 16:00, Monday – Thursday and on Friday, from 09:00am to 12:30pm.

Expressions of interest should be delivered in a written form to the address below (in person, or by mail) on 29 July 2022 at 12h30 GMT

Gambia Fiscal Management Development Project GFMDP

Ashobee Store Building

2nd Floor, Banjul

The Gambia

Email: [email protected], and [email protected]