In the Democratic Republic of Congo, government authorities are pleased with a peak in tax revenue observed last year, a first in the history of Congolese financial authorities. With around $2.4 billion in revenue in 2021, the Directorate General of Taxes (DGI) represents a third of the state budget, and exceeds its expectations. An improvement following the fight against corruption, according to the authorities, but civil society activists are reserved: for them, corruption remains high in the country.
With our correspondent in Kinshasa, Pascal Mulegwa
Barnabé Muakadi Muamba, Director General of the DGI has been talking about a strategy that has paid off since mid-2020. And unsurprisingly, VAT covers a large part of its revenue: “ When we arrived here, per month we had revenues of 70 billion (CDF) per month. Today for VAT alone, we have arrived at 160 billion. If the government supports us, we can double this amount, with software that allows us to properly manage the VAT. »
However, there remains a major problem: the taxpayer. ” Until today, we do not have a repertoire that is suitable for the DRChe explains. The country has more or less 90 million people, but we only have 200 000 taxpayers : it’s shameful, it means nothing. We must think about broadening the tax base through the census, through tax culture. »
Jimmy Kande of the Pan African Network for the fight against Corruption (United) : ” The Congolese should not be able to fall into the trap with performances that are perhaps better than in previous years, but with corruption that continues to be maintained by leaders who simply want to make a good impression on those who appointed them. This by advancing figures but while continuing to earn money. I believe that there is an audit that must be done to determine what the exact amount that the DGI is supposed to mobilize and where we are today. »
The government expects more than $3 billion in revenue from the DGI this year to constitute a third of the state budget.
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