TaxJusticeAfrica: May 2008

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Kenya- Mobitelea reaps millions in Safaricom's payout

5/29/2008
Treasury and Vodafone Kenya will pocket Sh2 billion in proposed dividends after Safaricom announced record profits. The two are the shareholders of East Africa's most profitable company. Mobitelea
Ventures, the shadowy Guernsey-registered entity, are among the major indirect beneficiaries of Safaricom's sterling performance for the year ending March 31, 2008.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Kenya - Taxation offers scope for containing rising oil price

28 May 2008.
Last week we delved into a subject that for a while now has concentrated every mind in this country, burnt a hole through every pocket and continues to leave a sour taste in the mouth for some time to come—oil and its soaring price. I started by laying out the backdrop in which oil is traded globally, setting out the major market drivers and illustrating how these manifest in our pump prices

Monday, May 26, 2008

Uganda_ Flower sector to get ten-year tax holiday

May 26, 2008
Investors in the ailing flower sector are counting their fortunes as government moves to strengthen the sector with attractive incentives.The President has directed the investment minister to introduce a ten-year tax holiday in the next financial budget.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Mozambique: Mozambique Revises Mining, Oil Fiscal Incentives Bill

10 May 2007 (Allafrica.com)
Maputo MOZAMBICAN Finance Minister Mr Manuel Chang on Tuesday introduced into the country's parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, a Bill revising the fiscal incentives for mining and oil activities

ABOUT TAX JUSTICE

Increasing foreign aid to Africa is often viewed as the panacea to address the poverty facing the continent. While the role played by international aid can not ignored there is an important element which is often ignored in this debate: the issue of the massive resource outflow from the continent.

The African Union estimates that up to US$ 148 billion is taken out of the continent annually because of corruption. These amounts exceed the current aid flow by a significant margin. It is indeed estimated that for every dollar that flows into the continent in terms of foreign aid and loans, there are 8 dollars flowing out through corrupt practices.

Issues around the massive resource outflow and its effects on the fledging economies of Africa have not been accorded due attention. The illicit capital flight and associated tax evasion , tax competition, transfer mis-pricing, revenue losses due to import tariff reduction brought by market liberalization, and other related aggressive tax avoidance malpractices by both MNCs and other rich elites in Africa have all significantly led to accelerated capital flows out of Africa.

The debate on economic development of the continent and the reduction of poverty would be missing a very important component if factors that encourage resource outflow, hamper domestic resource mobilization and encourage reliance on external financing for development are not addressed. There is need to raise the awareness among different actors of the impact these outflows have in hampering economic growth in Africa.

TaxJusticeAfrica