Togo’s Tax Revenue Authority reveals main tax innovations in 2021

Economic governance
Friday, 08 January 2021 16:06
Togo’s Tax Revenue Authority reveals main tax innovations in 2021

(Togo First) - Last Wednesday, while meeting with the press, the Togolese Revenue Authority (OTR) disclosed the major tax innovations of the new finance act. 

On the occasion, officials from the authority revealed that many changes have been made to the original draft bill. These include broadening the tax base and strengthening measures to control and tackle tax fraud and evasion, reducing the tax burden, making technical adjustments, and taking into account sub-regional tax regulations.

In detail, this year, value-added tax (VAT) will be imposed on electronic or digital transactions, i.e. services, operations, advertising, and others, offered by Togolese residents or businesses subjected to the Togolese law. 

Also, it is now compulsory for bailiffs, authorized customs agents, and other administrative authorities like notaries to request, hold and declare any information regarding beneficial owners of businesses and other entities to which they provide their services. 

Besides broadening the tax base to boost tax and customs revenues, the OTR reduced tax pressure on young entrepreneurs who pay the unique professional tax (TPU). From CFA300,000, the TPU was reduced to 20,000 CFA for the year 2021. Moreover, to encourage the population to adopt the motor vehicle tax, the Togolese government has significantly reduced the tax burden, which is considered too high for taxpayers. 

The tax revenue authority also observed that, in line with efforts to improve the business climate in Togo, it will no more collect any fee when a guarantee on immovable property (a mortgage registration) is released and canceled. 

In the same vein, the registration fee for transferring a property (resale) fell to 0.6% against 6% in 2020, while the fee for parceling was cut from 1% to 0.3%. 

In addition to these, some technical changes were also introduced. For example, the new tax law allows businesses to issue a provisional declaration of their annual performances and regularize it within the following three months. 

Séna Akoda

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