Lyla Latif

Research Fellow

Tax; Digitalisation; African Fiscal Systems; Redistribution; Illicit Financial Flows; Islamic Wealth Tax

School of Law
S1.15, Social Sciences Building
University of Warwick
Coventry CV4 7AL
United Kingdom

024 765 23090

Scholarship

I really enjoy researching on public finance, international business taxation and redistribution. My research takes a socio-legal positivist approach to understand the emerging socio-legal, technological, economic and political complexities of mobilising, allocating and spending revenue towards sustaining our wellbeing. Related to this, I also consider the institutionalised and illicit pathways through which revenue leaks and is lost.

Generally, Africa is the focus of my research, but increasingly my work is drawing towards exploring the fiscal systems in Afghanistan, Qatar and the UAE. Interdisciplinarity across human rights, socio-legal positivism and fiscal activism has seeped into how I make my key arguments when addressing how to:

Stop the criminal aspects of Illicit Financial Flows,
Tax the digital economy,
Consider fiscal politics and power asymmetries in negotiating tax treaties,
Establish the points at which revenue leaks from its generation, allocation, spending and auditing as part of the budget process,
Develop progressive tax systems and broaden the fiscal space with wealth taxation, and
Design a human rights based approach to fiscal transparency and accountability.

My personal initiative is to redesign fiscal systems to include the Islamic wealth tax toward financing socio-economic improvement, especially accessible and affordable healthcare. I like to think of my research as taking a heterodox critique to mainstream colonial influenced fiscal regimes and their approach to development.

Bio

I am a multifaceted legal luminary, and Advocate of the Courts of Kenya, specialised in the realms of aligning Islamic wealth taxation and public finance to accountable redistribution, and enhancing transparency to constrict the enabling environments that foster illicit financial flows. I hold a PhD, LLM, MA, and LLB having spent more than a decade weaving an impressive tapestry of accomplishments in both legal practice, policymaking, and academia. As the dynamic Chief Executive of Lai’Latif & Co Advocates, I have crafted a unique legal practice that not only excels in corporate and international taxation, and transactions law but also uplifts underprivileged women through a philanthropic wing powered by zakat. My dedication to social justice extends to my prominent roles on the boards of the Tax Justice Network (UK) and the International Lawyers Project. My expertise has been instrumental in shaping tax doctrine and practice in East Africa, as a member of the East Africa Law Society's inaugural Tax Law Committee. I am also an esteemed trainer with Capabuild Foundation, Rotterdam's premier tax capacity building organisation, imparting my knowledge of international tax norms and rules to revenue authorities in Botswana, Indonesia, and Kenya. As the visionary Chair and co-founder of the Committee on Fiscal Studies, I lead a team of brilliant minds in our quest to reform and strengthen tax systems in the global south. Through research, policy advocacy, capacity building, and tax trainings, I strive to bridge the knowledge gap and empower developing nations to build more robust and equitable fiscal systems.

Impact

Legislation

I have had the fantastic opportunity to steer Kenya's land law reforms by working with the Ministry of Lands to draft the Land Registration Act No 3 of 2012, National Land Commission Act No 5 of 2012 and Land Act No 6 of 2012 – the first set of new land legislation for the Republic of Kenya that replaced the old land laws that were in place since Independence in 1963.

I have drafted amendments to the Privatisation Act No 2 of 2005 (Revised 2016) and Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 2018 for the Kenyan National Assembly and submitted memoranda to the Kenyan Parliamentary Committees proposing amendments to the Nairobi International Financial Centre Bill, 2017, Draft Kadhi’s Courts Rule of Practice and Procedure, 2018, Income Tax Bill, 2018 and Finance Bill, 2018.

Beyond Kenya, I have submitted comments to the UN Tax Committee on its Discussion Draft on the Possible Changes to The United Nations Model Double Taxation Convention Between Developed and Developing Countries Concerning Inclusion of Software Payments in the Definition of Royalties.

Policy

Contributed to UNCTAD's 2020 EDAR Report on Tackling Illicit Financial Flows for Sustainable Development in Africa.

Wrote a working paper for the Tax Justice Network - Africa on the Regulation and Taxation of FinTech focusing on a comparative analysis of the regulatory and tax approaches to FinTech activities in Africa, Asia and Latin America to identify policy recommendations towards improving the regulation and taxation of FinTech (2019)

Wrote tax policy recommendations in a report titled: A Relational Analysis between the Income Tax Bill, 2018 and Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 2018 in Changing the Tax Architecture for the East Africa Tax and Governance Network. The report was read in the Kenyan Parliament (2018).

Wrote a policy brief for Norwegian Institute of International Affairs on Bangladesh’s Black Money Whitening Law (2013).

Public Understanding

Gave a keynote address alongside the US Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combatting anti-Semitism on promoting tolerance, understanding and respect to curb Islamophobia and anti-Semitism at the Park East Synagogue in New York (2019).

Engaged in public sensitisation on “Illicit Financial Flows and Secrecy Jurisdictions” alongside Nobel Laureate Sir Martin Evans at Cardiff University Public Event organised at the Chapter Arts Public Forum (2018).

Set up the 'Tax Talks' public dialogue sessions between academics, practitioners, students and the public on fiscal law and policy related issues at the University of Nairobi, School of Law. Between 2017 and 2021 we have had over 40 public engagements.

Holding discussions with the public in Mombasa and Nairobi over two weeks explaining the land law reforms proposed in drafting the new sets of land legislation for Kenya and collecting feedback (2012).

Professional Practice

Admitted to the Kenyan Bar in 2011. Member of the Law Society of Kenya and the East Africa Law Society.

2010-2011 Pupilage at Okoth & Kiplagat Advocates
2011-2013 Associate at Rachier & Amollo LLP
2014-2017 Senior Associate at Rachier & Amollo LLP
2020 - Chief Executive at Lai'Latif & Co Advocates

International Organisations

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights: Developing a normative and methodological framework of principles and guidelines through which a human rights analysis of a state’s fiscal transparency and public accountability of social spending measures can be empirically examined and recommendations made to prevent states from adopting regressive measures that could limit and dismantle progress made so far in achieving and implementing ESCR - (ongoing)

UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa: Conducted an in-depth study on the corruption and money laundering interface in African countries examining its impact on peace and security, humanitarian work, development and human rights

Friedrich Ebert Stiftung: Consulted for FES to draft a position paper for the African Union on reforms on international corporate taxation and the fight against illicit financial flows

WHO: Consulted for the World Health Organization under grant number 2014/483935-0 to investigate the extent to which human rights principles are applied in health policy making and programming in Kenya

European Commission: Worked under a grant funded by the European Commission’s Directorate for Research and Innovation (Go4Health project EU FTP 7) towards researching and publishing on formulating new goals for the right to health and proposing a new governance, legal and financing structure to realise these new goals (lead researcher under Work Package 3)