tax Archives - African Financial & Economic Data

02 Jul

Ugandans – furious with new tax for using social media and mobile money

Uganda’s government has kept its promise: Many Ugandans woke up today (July 1) to find that if they hadn’t paid the new tax on social-media use, services like WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and Skype were inaccessible.

Uganda’s government has long had an issue with social media as it tries to keep tabs on its young population. Back in February 2016, the country’s telecoms regulator blocked the internet during elections, ostensibly for security purposes.

This year, the regulator proposed a tax on social-media use, designed to curb gossip online and raise billions of shillings in government revenue.

That levy came after president Yoweri Museveni complained that idle talk on social media was costing the country much-needed time and income.

Many tech-savvy Ugandans have already taken to virtual private networks to get around having to pay an extra 200 Ugandan shillings ($0.05) per day. The new fee is expected to impact usage of social media and mobile money, which now has an additional 1% tax.

Major telecoms providers MTN, Airtel, and Africell, issued a joint statement informing customers of how to pay the new tax with mobile money services of MTN and Airtel.

Internet penetration stands at just 22% in Uganda, according to the World Bank. Social networks constitute the internet for those already online, with Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter being the most popular apps.

Source: https://qz.com/1319064/uganda-social-media-and-mobile-money-tax-now-in-effect/

20 Mar

South African Tax Agency Head to Face Hearing After Suspension

South African tax collection agency boss Tom Moyane was suspended and will face disciplinary proceedings as newly elected President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration moved to restore trust in the institution.

The ouster was Ramaphosa’s latest step to replace Jacob Zuma appointees in the government since taking over the presidency last month after his predecessor was forced to step down by the ruling party.

He’s also removed the board of the state power utility, which is laden with debt and has been implicated in a graft scandal.

Mcebisi Jonas, a former deputy finance minister, is being considered for the post, but it’s unclear whether he would accept it, according to two people familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Jonas couldn’t immediately be reached for comment and the National Treasury, which oversees the tax agency, didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment.

The decision to suspend Moyane as commissioner of the South African Revenue Service came on Monday after he refused to resign during a meeting with Ramaphosa, the Presidency said in a statement.

Ramaphosa said in a letter to Moyane that under his leadership there had been a deterioration in public confidence in the agency and that public finances had been “compromised.”

“For the sake of the country and the economy, this situation cannot be allowed to continue, or to worsen,” the president said in the letter.

As the events of the past few days unfolded, Moyane threatened to seek a court interdict to stop plans to remove him from his position, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Mark Kingon has been appointed acting commissioner, the National Treasury said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. Kingon, who has been with SARS since its establishment, was the interim head of the revenue body’s business and individual taxes unit, it said.

To read the full article, click here.

10 Jan

Congo May More Than Double Tax on Critical Global Cobalt Supply

The Democratic Republic of Congo is preparing to more than double a tax on two-thirds of global cobalt supply, potentially increasing the cost of the critical battery metal just as the world begins to embrace electric vehicles.

Congo, the world’s biggest cobalt producer, will increase the royalty miners pay on exports of the metal to 5 percent from 2 percent if it opts to categorize cobalt as a “strategic substance,” Mines Minister Martin Kabwelulu told the country’s Senate last week.

The new classification is part of an overhaul of mining legislation that is fiercely opposed by the industry, which says the law may deter future investment. Under the revised code, backed by the government and being scrutinized by parliament, the tax on base metals including copper and cobalt will increase to 3.5 percent from 2 percent. If approved by the Senate, the law will also allow the state to select “strategic” metals, likely to include cobalt, and tax them at a higher rate of 5 percent, Kabwelulu said.

A byproduct of copper and nickel mining used to harden steel, cobalt stepped into the global spotlight last year as prices surged. The metal’s efficiency in conducting electricity has made it essential for rechargeable batteries used in electric cars produced by companies including Tesla Inc. and Volkswagen AG.

Prices Triple

Plans to dramatically increase the production of electric vehicles resulted in the price of the metal more than tripling in the past two years as miners and automakers scrambled to secure supply. The boom hasn’t gone unnoticed in Congo, whose mines supply about two-thirds of global output.

The new legislation will guarantee Congo “the flexibility to face unforeseen developments in the international market if the international economic situation demands it” by permitting the government to declare certain minerals “strategic substances,” Kabwelulu told senators Jan. 5, according to a transcript of his remarks.

To read the full article, click here.

28 Nov

South Africans to be hit with a R30 billion tax hike in 2018

Whether the ANC are pursuing free higher education like kamikaze pilots, or trying to add another room on to Nkandla, the party are now pushing for a huge tax hike to fill the holes in our economy, according to a report in Business Tech.

There is a R40 billion gap in the country’s revenue, as identified by Malusi Gigaba in his mid-term budget speech. The government’s failure to stop tax dodgers – complimented by rampant corruption and lax regulations against avoidance – is now set to hit ordinary taxpayers right in their pockets.

They’ve effectively punctured their own tyres, and are now asking us to forfeit our own just so the ANC can continue their journey over the edge of a cliff.

Why a tax hike is planned for 2018

In total, they are looking to plug this rand black-hole over the next two years. South Africa’s shortfall actually stands at R80 billion. There is an expected R50 billion to come in expenditure cuts too.

This would equate to annual cuts in expenditure amounting to about R25 billion as well as revenue-enhancing measures amounting to about R15 billion, including where appropriate, tax measures, the presidency said in a statement.

A huge spanner in the works is the near-suicidal attempt to force through a free-fees plan for higher education. The Zuma regime are desperately trying to implement cost-free higher education. It’s noble in theory, but devastating in practice.

Areas facing cuts:

Social grants payments
Reducing the rollout of RDP houses
Freezing government wages
Halving the military budget

Tax hikes in the last two years have failed to deliver any expected revenue increases. 2015/16 failed to raise the predicted R18 billion, just as 2016/17 failed to earn the R28 billion it was forecast.

But, the third time is a charm right? Here’s the problem. Raising taxes has little-to-no effect on those that are causing the issue. If you aren’t cracking down on those avoiding tax, how are you going to get them to pay an increase?

Source: https://www.thesouthafrican.com/south-africans-to-be-hit-with-a-r30-billion-tax-hike-in-2018/

22 Aug

Nigeria: Government Joins 71 Countries to Combat Tax Evasion

Lagos — Nigeria has joined 71 other countries to combat tax evasion as the Federal Inland Revenue Service has signed two major multilateral instruments.

These instruments are the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (MLI) and the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement‎ (CRS MCAA).

Chairman, Mr. Tunde Fowler, Executive Fowler signed the agreements on behalf of Nigeria in Paris, with Mr. Ben Dickinson, head of global relations and development division of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in attendance.

A statement issued by Pascal Saint-Amans, director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration (CTPA), said the signing of the agreements makes Nigeria the 71st jurisdiction to sign the MLI and the 94th jurisdiction to join the CRS MCAA.

The agreements will give Nigeria automatic exchange of tax and financial information among 101 tax jurisdictions and enhance the country’s ability and those of the other countries to contain tax avoidance and evasion as well as share financial data.

The MLI is a legal instrument designed to prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) by multinational enterprises. It allows jurisdictions to transpose results from the OECD/G20 BEPS Project, including minimum standards to implement in tax treaties to prevent treaty abuse and “treaty shopping”, into their existing networks of bilateral tax treaties in a quick and efficient manner.

The text of the MLI, the explanatory statement and background information are available on OECD website along with the list of the 71 jurisdictions participating in the MLI and the position of each signatory under the MLI.

The CRS MCAA is a multilateral competent authority agreement based on Article 6 of the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, which aims to implement the automatic exchange of financial account information pursuant to the OECD/G20 Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and to deliver the automatic exchange of CRS information between 101 jurisdictions by 2018.

The text of the CRS MCAA, background information and the list of the 94 signatories are available on OECD website. Saint-Amans explained that the agreements will provide “automatic exchange of tax and financial information among 101 tax jurisdictions and enhance the ability of countries to contain tax avoidance and evasion.

It would be recalled that Fowler has said with the introduction of Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), no Nigerian can evade tax payment.

According to him, the board has received positive response so far on the scheme. To improve tax compliance, the Federal Government said tax offenders stand to enjoy 29 per cent waiver on overdue taxes if they take advantage of VAIDS. The VAIDS programme is aimed at reducing tax payers’ liability and creates more awareness on the statutory function of every working citizen to pay tax.

The scheme which started July 1, offers a window for those who, before now, have not complied with extant tax regulations to remedy their positions by providing them limited amnesty to enable voluntary declaration and payment of liabilities.

source from allAfrica

08 Aug

Nigeria: Govt Announces 27 Industries to Enjoy Tax Break Under Pioneer Status (Full List)

The federal Nigerian government on Monday released the full list of the 27 key industries and products who will enjoy a tax break, being included in the revised list of ‘pioneer status’ incentives for prospective investors.

At the end of the meeting of the Executive Council of the Federation, FEC, last week, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah, disclosed the approval given to the 27 industries.

Mr. Enelamah did not, however, list the 27 industries.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, later confirmed that the creative industry was among the 27.

Earlier, the trade and investment ministry announced the lifting of the administrative suspension on processing pioneer status incentives, PSI, applications for prospective investors in the country.

Some of the benefits of the pioneer status include tax relief, mainly for corporate income tax.

Here is the full list of the 27 industries to enjoy the pioneer status.

Mining and processing of coal;

Processing and preservation of meat/poultry and production of meat/poultry products;

Manufacture of starches and starch products;

Processing of cocoa;

Manufacture of animal feeds;

Tanning and dressing of Leather;

Manufacture of leather footwear, luggage and handbags;

Manufacture of household and personal hygiene paper products;

Manufacture of paints, vanishes and printing ink;

Manufacture of plastic products (builders’ plastic ware) and moulds;

Manufacture of batteries and accumulators;

Manufacture of steam generators;

Manufacture of railway locomotives, wagons and rolling stock;

Manufacture of metal-forming machinery and machine tools;

Manufacture of machinery for metallurgy;

Manufacture of machinery for food and beverage processing;

Manufacture of machinery for textile, apparel and leather production;

Manufacture of machinery for paper and paperboard production;

Manufacture of plastics and rubber machinery;

Waste treatment, disposal and material recovery;

E-commerce services;

Software development and publishing;

Motion picture, video and television programme production, distribution, exhibition and photography;

Music production, publishing and distribution;

Real estate investment vehicles under the Investments and Securities Act;

Mortgage backed securities under the Investments and Securities Act; and

Business process outsourcing

Via AllAfrica