UK launches largest tax partnership programme to help Ethiopia transition from aid

The International Development Secretary, Penny Mordaunt, has launched the UK’s biggest ever tax partnership programme to help Ethiopia generate more tax during her visit to the country.

The programme will transform Ethiopia’s tax system, helping it to harness the potential of its booming economic growth. This new partnership will also help the country generate revenue so that it can better finance its own services and development, becoming less reliant on aid.

Ethiopia is rapidly industrialising, and with this new partnership, the UK will support the country to meet its ambitions to develop its economy. Extra tax revenues will help the country tackle poverty, invest in its own services, boost economic growth and move beyond aid.

Ethiopia is currently hosting over 900,000 refugees from across the region. By empowering refugees to get jobs, the UK is helping them to rebuild their lives so that they do not seek dangerous migratory journeys outside the region. This is ensuring Ethiopia remains a force for stability in a volatile region.

She also announced new support to improve the welfare and security of employees at the Industrial Park.

“Ethiopia’s security, development and prosperity matter for the UK – which is why we’re working with the country to help it generate more tax from its rapid growth. This will help Ethiopia fund its own development – and ultimately transition beyond aid,” said International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt.

During her visit, Ms. Mordaunt also had the chance to visit a camp for internally displaced people in Ethiopia, where over two million people across the country have been forced to leave their homes. She saw first-hand how the UK’s flexible response is currently providing an uplift in basic lifesaving support for almost a million people.

Original source: DFID
Published on 7 August 2018