(Business in Cameroon) - The president of the Cameroonian Association for the Defense of Taxpayers' Rights (ACDC), Mazou Mouliom, contacted last June 7 the Director-General of Taxes to denounce the bargaining of tax payments on the online platform.

"We have the honor to bring to your attention some indecent practices of the heads of divisional tax centers that undermine the efforts made by the Directorate General of Taxes to improve the service offered to taxpayers and avoid corruption,” he wrote. Mazou Mouliom explains that taxpayers are required to give extra money after they pay their taxes. According to him, the phenomenon is recurrent in Douala and is gradually spreading to other cities. He is therefore urging relevant authorities to take adequate measures.

Since January 1, 2022, all tax procedures within the Divisional Tax Centers are digitalized. Initiated about ten years ago, the digitization of tax procedures has since significantly improved tax administration and revenue collection in the country.

Beyond saving time, digitization has allowed for a better securing of tax revenues. Since 2019, however, the tax-to-GDP ratio has been in continuous decline, according to official data. It was 8.5% in 2019, 8.1% in 2020, and is estimated to be less than 8% in 2021.

S.A.