2017 Tax Revenue: Reforms Lead To Collection of Over FCFA 2,000 Billion

Despite a difficult economy characterized by security menaces and a drop in global commodity prices, government was able to mobilise FCFA 2,006.7 billion through the collection of taxes in 2017. The 2017 Annual Report of the Directorate General of Taxation, published recently, shows that government collected an additional FCFA 132.3 billion when compared to 2016 and surpassed its 2017 target.

With regards to budgetary resources (excluding loans and grants), FCFA 1,856.9 billion was mobilised in 2017 as compared to FCFA 1,724.6 billion 2016, hence an increase of 7.7 per cent in relative terms.  As for non-oil taxes, FCFA 1,790.4 billion was collected against a target of FCFA 1,719 billion, representing a 104.2 per cent execution rate. Only FCFA 66.5 billion was collected as petroleum corporate income tax, for a 2017 target of FCFA 124 billion, giving an execution rate of 53.6 per cent.

Value Added Tax (VAT) output stood at FCFA 731.8 billion representing 40.9 per cent of the collected revenue. Non-oil corporate income tax stood at 17.8 per cent, excise duties at 10.4 per cent, withholdings on salaries at 8.4 per cent and Special Tax on Petroleum Products (STPP) at 6.8 per cent.

During the 2017 fiscal year, real GDP...