(Business in Cameroon) - The 2017 Finance bill of the Republic of Cameroon, currently under review at the Parliament, could lead to the introduction of new taxes in the hospitality and accommodation sector, we learned from reliable sources.
Indeed, in the proposals made by the government and submitted for approval to the Parliament, the implementation of a tourist tax of FCfa 500 to 5,000 per hotel night is scheduled, depending on the class of the accommodation structure in which the tourists will lodge during their stay in Cameroon.
Moreover, the government is proposing to subject owners of furnished flats to the payment of corporate tax (IS) and Value Added Tax (VAT). The Cameroonian State is planning through this measure, to benefit from the proliferation throughout the country of these types of accommodations, which, for some years, give stiff competition to hotels. Without necessarily having the same obligations as hotels where taxation is concerned.
Incidentally, if the creation of these taxes will help the Public Treasury somewhat replenish it's coffers, in a situation of general drop in oil revenues in producing countries, it could however result in an increase in the prices of the services offered in these accommodation structures.
Brice R. Mbodiam