An extract of Cameroon’s 2018 Finance Act, submitted for approval to parliamentarians on November 14, 2017, reads: “a 5% tax will be imposed on the following products: acacia gum, rice, palm oil, hot pepper, cola nuts, millet, sorghum pepper and the vegetable called Eru”.
According to a tax expert, these products, most of which are non-timber forest products, have been exempted from taxes until now. However, Cameroon’s government wants to introduce this tax to deal with some shady economic operators.
It has been observed that some operators use the above-mentioned products as a cover to export taxable ones. This is to avoid paying taxes, a practice that deprives the public treasury of huge tax revenues.
The reform also falls within the framework of the widening of the tax base that some development partners, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), recommended. It is also aimed at maximizing the collection of non-oil revenues in order to reduce the budget deficit due to the decrease of oil revenues and the general economic slowdown within Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) community over the past two years.
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