Africa lags behind in raising taxes

11/10/2023, 4:52:25 PM

Highlights: Africa lags behind in raising taxes. Insufficient government revenues have stagnated since the pandemic. Taxes fall too much on the consumer, not enough on the business. African states have suffered a major shock, amplified by rising food and energy prices that have weighed on growth. The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and the African Union (AUEU) found that government revenues had stagnated. The continent needs to mobilize its own resources to ensure their development.

Insufficient government revenues have stagnated since the pandemic. Taxes fall too much on the consumer, not enough on the business.

If you want something done right, do it yourself. In a more than complicated and very uncertain international context where capital is becoming scarcer and more expensive, African economies desperately need to mobilize their own resources to ensure their development. Especially since they are the continent's main source of financing. Government revenue in 2021 amounted to $466 billion, compared to $127 billion in capital inflows (foreign direct investment and portfolio flows), $96 billion from remittances from diasporas, and $65 billion from official development assistance.

However, the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and the African Union (AUEU) found that government revenues have stagnated since the pandemic. African states have suffered a major shock, amplified by rising food and energy prices that have weighed on growth...

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