Taxes on money transfers: in Cameroon, taxpayers denounce a double taxation

(Ecofin Agency) - On behalf of 2021, the Orange Money telecom operator claims monthly transactions of around $ 1.3 billion.Resources on which the State would like to rely to expand the tax base.

In the 2022 finance bill, introduced to Parliament during the November session, the Cameroonian government intends to institute a tax on money transfer operations.

Thus, are liable to said tax: money transfer operations carried out by any means or technical support leaving trace, in particular electronically, mobile telephony, telegraph or by tex or fax, with the exception of bank transfers andTransfers for tax, rights and taxes.Will also be taxed: cash withdrawals following a transfer of money made to financial institutions or mobile telephone companies.

The tax base of the money transfers is made up of the amount of the sums transferred or withdrawn.“The tax is liquidated by 0.2 % of the amount transferred or withdrawn.This tax on money transfers is collected by companies and donated monthly, no later than 25 of the month following the one during which the operations were carried out with their attachment tax center, "said the billfinance.

Taxpayers criticism

Only, this bill is denounced within the taxpayer community, reports investing in Cameroon.The Cameroonian Association for the Defense of Taxpayers Rights (ACDC) published a press release on November 28 to say “No to the double taxation introduced in the 2022 finance bill, which provides for the creation of the transfer tax'silver ".

“The fact is that this tax is taken during the transfer, but also with withdrawal.If you have transferred 10,000 francs to someone, you support 0.2 %.During the withdrawal, you must also bear the 0.2 %.This is a way of killing electronic currency and discouraging operations by electronic route, "says Mazou Mouliom, president of ACDC.

He adds: "I take an example: you have received a transfer of 20,000 francs.Afterwards, you receive a transfer of 40,000 francs.Then a transfer of 50,000 francs.If you have to withdraw 30,000 francs, what operation will be on?The fiscal principle would like that when an operation already undergoes a tax, we can no longer add another tax.You already know that these money transfer operations already support VAT, now we are still adding a tax transfer tax.We ask Parliament to reject this bill.In this article we do not say when we tax the transaction, because the "or" in the article is not exclusive ".

Expected government lighting

The government has not yet reacted to ACDC fears.But sources authorized at the Ministry of Finance (MINFI) indicate that clarifications on this subject will be given in the coming days.Also, in Minfi, experts believe that money transfers represent a large niche of resources that could supply tax collection.

Indeed, according to the operator Orange, which claims 70 % of the market share in this segment, its mobile Money service accounts for monthly cumulative transactions in 2021 in the amount of 800 billionFCFA ($ 1.3 billion), or 9,600billions FCFA per year.It’s almost twice the Cameroon State budget during the 2021 fiscal year.

Sylvain Andzongo