Finance and Budget Minister Cheikh Diba was questioned this Thursday during the review of the draft law on the General Tax Code about the proposed taxation of the money transfer system. In this regard, he revealed the low tax contribution of the major operator (without naming it) in this area. "Since it has been operating, the latter has not paid corporate tax and has only contributed 20,000,000 CFA francs in the form of the minimum flat-rate tax. In truth, the tax must comply with the principles of equity and justice," he stated.

According to him, "if all sectors of the economy pay tax in proportion to their ability to contribute, digital technology should not, moreover, remain on the sidelines."

Sheikh Diba also argued that despite the tax's mandatory and authoritative nature, stakeholders were involved in the process. Moreover, he pointed out, some activities remain exempt, even though the top rate is set at 0.5%, while elsewhere the rate is 2% or even 1.5%.

And yesterday, in committee, the minister indicated that regarding the risks of a return to cash with the implementation of the new tax, the latter tends rather to reduce the amount paid. Moreover, the examples of a decline in electronic payments relayed to support this thesis do not correspond to reality.

"Regarding the proposal to tax the turnover of service providers, he noted that its adoption would generate approximately 5,250,000,000 CFA francs. This is far from the objectives set by the new formula. However, he remains open to discussions with operators on any new proposal. Regarding transfers from bank accounts to mobile money accounts, the minister assures that they remain exempt. Transfers of less than 20,000 CFA francs are not affected by this new tax," said the rapporteur of the Finance and Budget Committee.

Regarding the 1.5% regulatory tax, Sheikh Diba indicated that it had already been abolished by a new law. He emphasized that the relevant documents had already been sent to the system stakeholders who requested it.

Awa FAYE