3 new taxes created in telecom, trade and gas sectors

The 2016 Finance Act of Cameroon, which will be one of the Parliament deliberations in the coming days, will establish three new taxes, particularly in the telecom, commercial and industrial gas sectors.

This was revealed by Quotidien de l’Economie, citing sources within the formal Interpatronal Group of Cameroon (Gicam).

According to sources, the tax on electronic communications will be subject to audiovisual communications companies, mobile telephony, and internet service providers. Also, tax on financial transactions in cash should question all economic agents; and the tax on the distribution of industrial gas in the country.

Upon observation, the Cameroon government intends to capitalize on the exponential development of certain sectors of activity (industrial gas and mobile) on its territory in recent years, and certain habits of Cameroonians (excessive manipulation species). This is to ensure achieving its fiscal targets in 2016 (FCFA 42498 billion) with more than FCFA 503 billion as compared to 2015 (FCFA 3,746,6 billion).

For instance, ART disclosed, said the national telecoms regulator, the mobile penetration rate in Cameroon increased from 9.8 to 71% between 2004 and 2014. With over 18 million subscribers to mobile telephony of 22 million, three operators in operation and a rate of Internet penetration pulled up by mobile internet boosted by the recent advent of 3G ; the telecom sector in Cameroon is expanding.

As a result of this, the state's ambition obviously is to draw more added value. This is going well beyond the FCFA 617 billion in taxes and charges paid by mobile operators practicing in Cameroon in 2010-2014.

Tax burden

The situation is similar in the area of the distribution of industrial gases. Besides the premises such as Fme Gaz or Air Liquide, came to graft the British firm Victoria Oil and Gas, whose subsidiary, Gas Cameroon (GDC), delivers to businesses the product gas from the gas field at Logbaba in the Littoral Region which was commissioned in November 2013.

At the end of June 2015, for example, production on the gas field has increased by 178% and customers (28 large companies to date) tributary increasingly the gateway to GDC to run their gas boilers and no longer considered the most costly electrical energy.

The tax on financial transactions in cash will benefit from the Cameroonians too high propensity cash handlers. In a country where the banking rate is below 20%, cash is almost idolized by economic agents.

Despite the disposal of the CEMAC regulation systems, means and incidents of 2003 payments, which prohibits financial transactions in cash of more than FCFA 500,000 between merchants and over a million between individuals not traders.

As a reminder, in January 2014, during the annual conference of central services, external and decentralized Ministry of Finance, the Director General of Taxes, Modest Mopa, judging the tax ratio of 13% in the country is still "weak" compared to the African average, had advocated raising to 18% the "medium term".