The Covid-19 pandemic, which continues to wreak havoc around the world, has significantly disrupted the world economy in general and that of Cameroon in particular. Despite this precarious situation, the Directorate General of Taxes (DGI) still managed to achieve more than satisfactory performance in terms of tax revenue during the first quarter of 2020.
Indeed, in an interview published late last week in the columns of the government daily, Cameroon Tribune, Modeste Mopa Fotoing, the director general of taxes (DGI), announced that the structure for which he is responsible, has mobilized 537 billion of FCFA in the 1st quarter of 2020, against 463 billion FCFA during the same period in 2019, an increase of 74 billion FCFA in absolute value and 16% in relative value.
According to the DGI, this upward performance is the result of the reforms of modernization of the tax administration in recent years, which according to him, have allowed the collection system of the General Directorate of Taxes, to demonstrate a strong capacity for resilience in this period of crisis. However Modeste Mopa Fotoing is objective and realistic. He is aware that due to the Coronavirus, the mobilization of tax revenues could be compromised for the rest of the year and the revenue forecasts considerably readjusted. Because, at the start of the year, in addition to the annual target of CFAF 2 103 billion, the tax authorities had expected a growth rate of 4% and a price per barrel of more than 50 dollars.