Togo Weighs Allowing Women to Claim Husbands as Dependents for Income Tax

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Monday, 01 December 2025 11:54

Togo Weighs Allowing Women to Claim Husbands as Dependents for Income Tax

(Togo First) - To reduce gender inequality in taxation, female civil servants should be allowed to declare their husbands as dependents for Personal Income Tax calculations, just as men can do for their wives. This recommendation appears in an analytical brief published earlier this year by the Directorate General of Budget and Finance within Togo’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, which examines gender disparities in the tax system.

Currently, only a husband may declare his wife as a dependent for IRPP calculations in Togo. The ministry argues that this contradicts existing laws on gender equality in public administration.

Togo’s IRPP applies a progressive rate ranging from 0 percent for annual income below 900,000 CFA francs to 35 percent for income above 10 million CFA francs. Overall, most current tax measures are gender neutral, and the analysis finds that they do not reduce economic inequalities between men and women.

Beyond the IRPP proposal, the report suggests lowering import duty rates for women traders. The African Union levy could be reduced from 0.2 percent of customs value to 0.1 percent, and the national solidarity levy from 0.5 percent to 0.2 percent. These adjustments would target the informal sector, where women account for 54 percent of workers.

The report also proposes reductions for women subject to certain import-related charges, including adjustments to the ECOWAS solidarity rate, given women’s strong participation in informal trade.

On the budgeting side, allocations for gender-related programs increased from 20 billion CFA francs in 2022 to 30.5 billion in 2024, a rise of 52 percent. Even so, they represent only a small share of the national budget, increasing from 1.07 percent in 2022 to 1.35 percent in 2024.

The ministry recommends expanding gender-equality strategies across all sectors, strengthening statistical data collection and building administrative capacity for gender-responsive budgeting.

The assessment highlights progress in education and healthcare, alongside persistent disparities. Women hold only about 21.7 percent of leadership positions in the administration. Their access to land and finance remains limited, despite initiatives in Planned Agricultural Development Areas and inclusive finance programs. Some 7,964 women have been allocated plots in ZAAPs, representing 41 percent of beneficiaries.

Gaps also remain in secondary schooling, although primary completion rates for girls reached 95.7 percent in 2024. The Wezou initiative has supported more than 400,000 pregnant women. Women’s representation in the National Assembly stands at 18.5 percent, and women’s land ownership in the Savanes region is only 2.6 percent.

The ministry argues that integrating gender into taxation and budgeting is essential to closing these gaps. The goal is a fairer allocation of resources and stronger support for women’s economic participation. Women make up 51.3 percent of the population and more than half of the national labor force.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

REFORMS OVERVIEW

STARTING A BUSINESS (more info)

At the fifteenth position, worldwide, and first in Africa, under the Starting a Business index of the 2020 Doing Business ranking, Togo sustains its reformative dynamics with more reforms….

ENFORCING CONTRACTS (more info)

Compared to some years ago when it was one of the lowest rankers under the Doing Business’ Enforcing Contracts indicator, Togo, leveraging many efforts to improve its business climate, was able to jump significantly on the index in the recent years... .

CONTRACT EXECUTION (more info)

Creation of special chambers of commerce for small debts • Creation of chambers of commerce at the Court of Appeal • Civil and commercial cases now handled by distinct clerks • Establishment of commercial courts in Lomé and Kara • Lawyers and bailiffs now have access to the FORSETI COMMERCIAL platform • A maximum period of 100 days was fixed to settle a commercial dispute .

TRADING ACROSS BORDERS (more info)

In comparison to previous years,Togo has significantly improved its ranking under the“Trading across borders” indicator by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

In comparison to previous years, Togo has significantly improved its ranking on the “Trading across borders” index by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitalization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

CONSTRUCTION PERMIT (more info)

After moving from the 133rd to 127th place under the 2020 Doing Business’ construction permit index, Togo intends to reiterate this feat in the coming edition of the global ranking. To this end, it has introduced this year multiple reforms.

GETTING ELECTRICITY (more info)

Over the past two years, Togo’s ranking under the Doing Business’ Getting electricity and water indicator has increased consistently. Owing this performance to multiple reforms aimed at making it easier for businesses to access power and water, Lomé plans to introduce even more reforms this year to keep up its improvements.

REGISTERING A PROPERTY (more info)

Out of all the 'Doing Business’ indicators, Property Registration is where Togo has improved the most since 2018. Indeed, after spending years in the lowest part of this ranking, the country now seeks to beat Rwanda which is the best performer on this index in Africa. To do so, Lomé has been introducing many reforms, with the latest batch implemented this year.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (more info)

From professionalization to digitization, through legislative regulations, Togo’s public procurement framework is constantly being modernized. Several reforms have been implemented to improve the sector much to the benefit of the private sector, which is the focus of the National Development Plan.

PAYING TAXES AND DUTIES (more info)

To improve its business environment, Togo introduced some important reforms related to the payment of tax and duties. From the replacement of some taxes to the cancellation of others through exemptions, the country has only one objective: offer the most attractive tax framework to investors and economic operators. To achieve this, the authorities relied on digitization.