Are More Multinational Taxes for Developing Nations Enough?
A new agreement between 136 nations addresses the way in which multinationals transfer profits earned in one country and shift them to a "tax haven" - a country with a lower tax rate - thus denying tax revenue to the governments of countries in which the profits are made.
While African nations are most frequently the victims of tax avoidance, most often by mining and financial enterprises, some have been named by the Europe-based Tax Justice Network as offenders to one degree or another and lists nine African countries in its ranking of the 70 jurisdictions "most complicit in helping multinational corporations underpay corporate income tax."
Five of them have signed up to the new Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development agreement, the most important of which is Mauritius which is widely recognised as a tax haven and is at 15th place on the network's list of tax havens, writes John Allen for allAfrica.
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Seychelles:
EU Removes Seychelles On Tax Haven Blacklist, a Positive Change for Businesses
Seychelles News Agency, 6 October 2021
The European Union has removed Seychelles from tax haven blacklist after the island nation amended its legislation to bring it in line with international standards, a top… Read more »
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Namibia:
Namibia Signs Convention to Boost Local Tax Laws
New Era, 4 October 2021
Namibia joined the Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project of the OECD/G20 in August 2019, and undertook to implement mechanisms and tools to… Read more »
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Africa:
OECD Tax Deal Is a Mockery of Fairness - Oxfam
Oxfam, 8 October 2021
In response to the OECD's tax deal announced today, Oxfam's Tax Policy Lead Susana Ruiz said: "Today's tax deal was meant to end tax havens for good. Instead it was written by… Read more »
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Africa:
New World Tax Deal to Improve Revenue for Developing Countries
OECD, 10 October 2021
Major reform of the international tax system finalised today at the OECD will ensure that Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) will be subject to a minimum 15% tax rate from 2023. Read more »
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Africa:
Nigeria Withholds Assent As 136 Countries Ratify 15 Percent Corporate Tax
This Day, 10 October 2021
At least 136 members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and G-20 Nations at the weekend agreed to a 15 per cent corporate tax rate effective from… Read more »
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Africa:
OECD Tax Deal On Track to Become Rich Country Stitch-Up - Oxfam
Oxfam, 7 October 2021
On the eve of technical talks to thrash out the final details of the OECD tax deal ahead of the G20 Finance Ministers meeting next week, Oxfam is calling for world leaders to bring… Read more »
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Nigeria:
Govt Rejects Deal As U.S., UK, 134 Other Countries Approve Historic Minimum Corporate Tax Rate
Premium Times, 9 October 2021
The deal follows concern that multinational companies are re-routing their profits through low tax jurisdictions to cut their bills. Read more »
InFocus
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Senegal unilaterally ended its double non-taxation treaty with Mauritius without fanfare. It had previously threatened to cancel the treaty if certain conditions were not met. ... Read more »
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Zambia will now try to estimate how much revenue was lost under its tax treaty with Mauritius, which one official described as "not balanced or fair". It is the second African ... Read more »
(file photo).