BCom (Financial Accounting and Law), UCT

LLB, UCT

MCom (Tax) UCT

Certificate in International Tax Law, UCT

PhD, University of Amsterdam

Admitted attorney, notary and conveyancer

Bio

Afton Titus is an Associate Professor in the Commercial Law Department. She graduated from UCT with Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws degrees. After completing her articles and being admitted to the High Court as an attorney, notary and conveyancer, Afton then completed her Master of Commerce degree in Taxation from UCT while working as a tax practitioner.

Of her interest in South African tax law, Afton comments: “My attraction to tax law started with an appreciation of its sophisticated blending of law and calculations. I then fell in love with the poetic turns of phrase that characterise many of the pivotal judgments in South African tax law.”  Afton also notes that she loves the fact that while some aspects of tax law change often, the fundamental principles of tax law always remain the same.

Afton was awarded her PhD from the Amsterdam Centre for Tax Law at the University of Amsterdam, with her thesis focused on designing corporate tax policies for the East African Community and its envisaged federation.

“From a South African tax law perspective,” says Afton, “I am particularly interested in the general anti-avoidance rule and the capital/revenue debate in income and expenditure. From an international tax perspective, my research focuses on international tax governance, source-based allocation, regional integration, and development-oriented tax design for African states in a post-BEPS world.”

Afton teaches at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, noting that: “Many people wrongly imagine tax law to be dry and boring. I enjoy bringing the tax cases to life before my class as I explain the background, context and continued relevance of the many cases that feature in tax law. Statutory interpretation is also a vital area in law that is often seen as boring. However, it has particular relevance to tax law, and I enjoy bringing the class’s attention to the sometimes ingenious arguments employed in this area of law to persuade a court to read legislation in the manner argued.”

Afton is also part of the core team at the UCT Tax Unit for Fiscal Research, in partnership with the International Bureau for Financial Documentation (IBFD).  The Unit offers postgraduate programmes in South African Tax Law, and also in International Tax Law. The Masters-level courses provide students with deep expertise in the design of the tax system in South Africa and how it relates internationally to other countries.

For Afton’s Google scholar page, go to https://scholar.google.co.za/citations?user=pOLD9-kAAAAJ&hl=en

Recent Publications

Peer-reviewed journal articles

A.P. Dourado and A. Titus, ‘Editorial: International Tax Reform and African Realities’ (2026) 54(5) Intertax 312-314.

A. Titus, ‘Digital Services in Africa: Rebalancing Business Income Taxation through Inter-Nation Equity’ (2026) 80(4/5) Bulletin for International Taxation, published online.

A. Titus, ‘From Africa to the World: Pathways to Inclusivity and Political Justice at the UN’ (2025) 53(1) Intertax 85-92.

A. Titus, ‘The Role of the United Nations in Ensuring Equitable Tax Policies for Developing Countries’ (2024) 27(4) Journal of International Economic Law 624-631.

A. Titus, ‘A New Model for Tax Governance from Africa to the Asia-Pacific’ (2024) 78(9/10) Bulletin for International Taxation 394-404.

S. Parsons and A. Titus, ‘Remote Work and the Taxation of Individuals: A Developing World Perspective and the Argument for Inter-Nation Equity’ (2024) 16(2) World Tax Journal 325-348.

A. Titus, ‘Tax Justice for Women: Navigating the Path to Economic Empowerment in Post-Apartheid South Africa’ (2024) 52(6/7) Intertax 501-516. 

A. Titus, ‘The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Taxation of Individuals in Africa: Proposals for Reform’ (2024) 78(1) Bulletin for International Taxation 31-40.

A. Titus, ‘Pillar Two and African Countries: What Should Their Response Be? A Case for a Regional One’ (2022) 50(10) Intertax 711 – 720.

A. Titus, ‘Global Minimum Corporate Tax: A Death Knell For African Country Tax Policy?’ (2022) 50(2) Intertax 414-423.

Book chapters

A. Titus, ‘Embracing the African Union and the African Tax Administration Forum in Tax Governance’ in Taxing People: The Next 100 Years, Tsilly Dagan and Ruth Mason, eds. (Cambridge University Press, 2025) 114-130.

A. Titus, ‘Decision-Making In A Proposed African Union Tax Governance Structure’ in Redefining Global Governance, I.J. Mosquera Valderrama, ed. (Springer, 2025) 285-306. 

A. Titus, ‘The Promise of Non-Arm's Length Practices - Is the Destination-Based Cash Flow Tax or Unitary Taxation the Panacea of Which Developing Countries Are in Search?’ in Taxation, International Cooperation and the 2030 Sustainable Development, I.J. Mosquera Valderrama, D. Lesage, and W. Lips, eds. (Springer, 2021) 29-46.

Policy Work

A. Titus, N. Quiñones, S. Dean, M. Baine, and T. Shongwe, ‘Regional International Tax Cooperation for Global Solutions’ T20 South Africa 2025 Policy Brief (prepared for the South African G20 Presidency process).

Editorial work

Intertax: Co-editor, special issue on African perspectives in international tax law (2025/2026).

Conferences and Workshops

Max Planck Institute, Germany (December 2025): Presented research on digital service taxation in a developing country context.

University of Oxford, United Kingdom (June 2025): Delivered invited lectures on African Regionalism and International Tax and Pillar Two in African Countries, as part of the MSc in Taxation programme and the Tax and Development course.

Antwerp University, Belgium (April 2025): Delivered an invited lecture on African Integration and International Tax Governance.

International Fiscal Association Annual Meeting, South Africa (October 2024): Delivered a panel presentation on digital service taxes at the annual meeting held in Cape Town.

Collegium Helveticum and Graduate Institute, Switzerland (May 2024): Presented research on tax governance and inclusivity at the conference The Past and Future of Global Tax Justice: A History and Law Conference held in Zurich, Switzerland.

Tax Justice Network Conference, France (April 2024): Spoke on African regional integration and the UN tax convention developments at the conference How Can a UN Convention Address Inequality in Europe and Beyond? held in Paris, France.

Leiden University, Netherlands (June 2023): Presented work on African tax governance at an international tax conference held in Leiden, Netherlands.