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This summary brief summarises the Guidebook on the Efficient Taxation of the Informal Sector in Africa (hereinafter, the Guidebook) which was developed by the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) to articulate the rationale for taxing the informal sector in Africa and provides pragmatic best practices and home-grown options. Over the years, numerous attempts have been made to find a suitable definition and scope of the term “informal sector”.

This led to debates on the most appropriate definition to be used, which is crucial considering the nature of informal sector activities. Among competing definitions include one by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) (2009: iii) which defines informal sector to include “all economic activities by workers and economic units that are – in law or practice – not covered or insufficiently covered by formal arrangements.”