11th

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON TAXPAYER RIGHTS

Taxpayer Rights, Social Justice & Political Will in Developing Countries

28-30 July 2026 | University of Pretoria, South Africa| Online

Welcome to the Resources page for the 11th International Conference on Taxpayer Rights.  On this page, you will find the conference agenda, speaker biographies, presentation abstracts and slides and other resources.  If you have any questions about this or upcoming conferences, please contact us at info@taxpayer-rights.org.

Click here for Agenda
Click here for Speaker Bios

Each year, the Observatory on the Protection of Taxpayer Rights, a project undertaken by the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation, publishes a Yearbook on Taxpayer Rights.  The Yearbook contains reports from more than forty countries, covering the practical protections of taxpayer rights in those locations.  As part of the International Conference on Taxpayer Rights each spring, Professor Pasquale Pistone and Philip Baker, Q.C., share highlights of the current report.

Click here for 2025 IBFD Yearbook

Taxpayer Ombuds/
Advocate Roundtable

28 July 2026

Role of Taxpayer Ombuds in Protecting Taxpayer Rights & Achieving Social Justice

Moderator: Nina E. Olson, Executive Director, Center for Taxpayer Rights, United States  —  IRC 7803 | TBOR | Office of the Taxpayer Advocate  —  —  IRC 7811 | Taxpayer Assistance Orders  —

Panelists:

Mmamelao Malakalaka, acting CEO Tax Ombud, South Africa  —  Office of the Tax Ombud, South Africa — 

Erastus V. Mtui, Tax Ombudsman, Tanzania  — Office of the Tax Ombudsman, Tanzania —

John Nwabueze, Nigerian Tax Ombud, Nigeria  — Office of the Tax Ombud —  — Slides —

Tax Clinic Roundtable

28 July 2026

Role of Tax Clinics in Protecting Taxpayer Rights & Achieving Social Justice

Moderator: Nina E. Olson, Executive Director, Center for Taxpayer Rights, United States  —  IRC 7526 | Low Income Taxpayer Clinics  —

Panelists:

Kerry de Hart, University of South Africa, South Africa

Hanneke de Preez, University of Pretoria, South Africa  —  Slides  —

T. Keith Fogg, Harvard University, United States  —  History of Low Income Taxpayer Clinics —  —  Pro Se Precedent in the US Tax Court: A Case for Amicus Briefs — 

Annette Morgan, Clinic  Curtin University, Australia  —  Curtin University Tax Clinic Resources —

Elizabeth Morton, Curtin University, Australia

ICTR
Day One

South African Tax Ombud
29 July 2026

Opening Remarks: The State of Taxpayer Rights in South Africa

Speaker:

Ms. Yanga Mputa, South African Tax Ombud

ICTR
Day One

Opening Dialogue
29 July 2026

Profits or People? Rethinking Tax Regulation in Africa Through a Human Rights Lens

Moderator:  Steven Dean, Boston University Law School, United States —  Slides  —  —  “Tax and Origins of Global Inequality”

Panelists:

Hon. Nelisa Mali, Judge, Gauteng High Court, South Africa  — Slides —

Nkatha Murungi, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Chenai Mukumba, Tax Justice Network Africa, Zimbabwe

ICTR
Day One

Panel 1
29 July 2026

Tax, Human & Taxpayer Rights Implications of Extractive Industry & Climate Change,
Carbon Tax, & Local Communities

Moderator:  Fanie van Zyl, University of Pretoria, South Africa  —  A Research & Policy Agenda for Carbon Pricing Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms, & the Green Transition in Low & Middle Income Countries  —  Additional Resources & Readings — 

Panelists:

Sharlin Hemraj, National Treasury, South Africa

Xana Maunze, Enabel, Mozambique

Joelle Traore, African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), South Africa  — ATAF Environmental Tax Handbook 2024 — 

ICTR
Day One

Panel 2
29 July 2026

Pay First, Argue Later:  Due Process Protections & Taxation

Moderator:  Ali Noroozi, University of Melbourne Law School, Australia

Panelists:

Leslie Book, Villanova University School of Law, United States  —  Slides  —  — Articles & Resources — 

Carika Keulder, University of Witswaterand, South Africa  — Slides —  —  Abstract  —   —  Inaugural Lecture  —   — Ferreria v SARS —  — Metcash Trading Ltd v SARS — 

Daisy Ogembo, International Centre for Tax & Development, IDS, England  —  Slides  —  —  Abstract & Statutes — 

ICTR
Day One

Panel 3
29 July 2026

Gendered Fisscal Systems: Direct & Indirect Discrimination in Tax & Public Spending

Moderator:  Alice Abreu, Temple University Law School, United States  — ABA Resolution on Taxation of Menstrual Products — 

Panelists:

Nthabiseng Debeila, Lead: ATAF Women in Tax Network, South Africa

Lisa Marriott, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand  —  Slides —  — Abstract —

Belema Obuoforibo, International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation, The Netherlands  — Slides —  — Abstract —

Sumarie Swanepoel, University of Pretoria, South Africa  — Slides —  — Abstract — 

Giovanna Tieghi, University of Padua, Italy  — Slides —  — Abstract —

ICTR
Day Two

Panel 4
30 July 2026

Digitalization, AI & Tax Administration: Building Capacity, Ensuring Accountability & Safeguarding Taxpayer Rights

Moderator:  Chris Evans, University of New South Wales, Australia  — Slide —   —  Abstract  —

Panelists:

David Hadwick, University of Antwerp, Belgium  — Slides —

Emeka Nwankwo, ATAF, South Africa

Gert Van Heerden, South African Institute of Taxation, South Africa  —  Slides  —  —   Abstract — 

Nina E. Olson, Center for Taxpayer Rights, United States  — Slides —  

ICTR
Day Two

Panel 5
30 July 2026

Addressing Illicit Financial Flows to Support Sustainable Development

Moderator: Annet Oguttu, University of Pretoria, South Africa  — UN FACTI Report 02-25-2021 —  — Tax Abuse & Implications for Human Rights in Africa —  — Taxing High Net Worth Individuals — 

Panelists:

Bernd Schlenther, University of Pretoria, South Africa  —  Slides — 

Anthony Munanda, ATAF, South Africa

Mercy Mbithi, ATAF, South Africa

Irene Ovonji-Odida, Member, Africa Union/UN Commission on Africa High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, Uganda

ICTR
Day Two

IBFD/Current Developments
30 July 2026

IBFD Observatory on the Protection of Taxpayer Rights/Current Developments in Case Law

Panelists:

Philip Baker, K.C., Field Tax Chamber; Visiting Lecturer, Oxford University, England  —  IBFD Observatory for the Protection of Taxpayer Rights – 2025 Report —  —  Slides —

Thabo Legwaila, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa  —  Slides  — 

Pasquale Pistone, Academic Chairman, International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation, The Netherlands  —  Slides  —

Katerina Perrou, Law School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens; Legal Counsel to the Governor of the IAPR, Greece  —  Slides  —

ICTR
Day Two

Panel 6
30 July 2026

Global Dispute Resolution

Moderator:  Aakifah Louw, Group 1 Advocates, South Africa  —  Slides  —

Panelists:

Luckystar Miyandazi, African Union Commission, Ethiopia  — Slides —

Katerina Perrou, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens; Legal Counsel to the Governor of the IAPR, Greece

Nico Theron, Unicus Tax Specialists, South Africa  — Slides  —  —  Abstract  —