Maroua: Taxation officials sensitise Far North mayors on new local tax reform.

The Maroua meeting took the guise of an information and awareness-raising get-together.

The event, organised by the Directorate General of Taxes, DGI, was part of a national caravan, dedicated to publicising the new law on local taxation, which was promulgated on December 23, 2024.

With the objective being the fruits of a strong political commitment, the reform aims to make the local tax system more efficient and better aligned with the requirements of national development. 

The head of the mission, deployed from Yaounde to Maroua, Abakar Idrissa, pointed out that the reform aims to double the revenues of Decentralised Local Authorities, CTD, from 271 to 550 billion FCFA. 

He also emphasised that thanks to the introduction of the Unique Treasury Account, tax revenues will now be transferred directly, and in real time, to the accounts of local authorities, with the Cameroon Postal Service, CAMPOST.

Participants, who included mayors, secretaries-general, municipal tax collectors, tax and treasury officers, were lectured on three key issues.

The first presentation focused on the overall content of the reform.Meanwhile, the second bordered on the organisational challenges facing the local authorities. There was also a presentation on theTreasury's new unique account works.

It was disclosed that there are two main thrusts to the reform, including a new approach to local tax policy and an overhaul of tax administration. 

At present, local tax revenues account for only 7.3% of the State's own resources, but the aim is to reach 16% in the next few years, officials said. They say this will require a fairer, more transparent and more efficient system.

Far North Governor, Midjiyawa Bakari, who attended the ceremony, highlighted the crucial role of taxation in local development. 

The senior civil administrator deplored the fact that some municipalities depend solely on additional revenues, whereas they have potential that simply needs to be exploited. 

In an exchange with newsmen at the close of the meeting, Abakar Idrissa who led joint Ministry of Finance and Decentralisation and Local Development, MINFI-MINDDEVEL mission explained that “The main objective of this caravan is to inform and raise awareness among decentralisation stakeholders about local tax reform, a fundamental reform for strengthening the budgetary performance and financial autonomy of our decentralised Local Authorities, CTDs. 

The head of the delegation said the mission is being carried out in accordance with the instructions of the Minister of Finance and that of Decentralisation and Local Development which is contained in a joint communiqué that they signed on May 5, 2025. 

“With this in mind, the Director General of Taxes, Meyong Abath Roger Athanase, has deployed representatives of the Tax Administration to the chief towns of Cameroon's ten administrative regions, in order to explain the issues at stake, present the innovations and methods of implementation of the law reforming local taxation, and ensure collective ownership” he said adding that “If we need to go back to the genesis of this reform, it must be said that it is part of the acceleration and deepening of the decentralisation process desired by the Head of State”.

What has changed

Explaining the shortcomings of the previous system, he said noted that the system suffered from a number of weaknesses including a multiplicity of taxes, low yields from some of them, such as property tax, a blurred division of powers between the State and the local authorities, little involvement of the local authorities in tax management, and still very limited development of regional taxation. 

“All of this hindered the effective mobilisation of local revenues” he stated.

On the specificities of the new local tax reform, Abakar said “It introduces several major innovations. Firstly, the creation of a Synthetic General Tax to replace the flat-rate tax and the simplified system”.

He continued that “Secondly, the extension of additional communal centimes to other tax bases, and the strengthening of resources allocated to the Regions, such as mining and oil royalties and local stamp duty. In terms of direct taxation, the number of taxes has been reduced from 21 to 12 to simplify and improve yield. You will understand that this reform involves changes to local tax administration”.

He said “For example, the Divisional Tax Centres have been transformed into Local and Personal Tax Centres , with the task of managing local taxes under the supervision of the tax authorities. At the same time, each local authority will have to set up a Local Tax Monitoring Unit”.

Revenue distribution

Harping on how revenue will be distributed between the various local authorities, Abakar explained that the law provides for a methodical and fair approach, with clear criteria for distributing earmarked revenue. 

He said it guarantees a balanced allocation of resources, taking into account the powers transferred, collection efforts and local needs. 

On measures taken to ensure the transparency and efficiency of resource collection, he disclosed that adjustments are planned to the operation of the Treasury's Unique Account, to enable resources to be made available to the local authorities more quickly.

He said “Each collector will now have a bank account statement from CAMPOST, which will facilitate smoother and faster transfers of the funds collected”.