Corporate Taxation in Senegal: Reform and Tax Avoidance

by | Aug 6, 2026 | AMTJ, AMTJ 2026 I1

Corporate Taxation in Senegal: Reform and Tax Avoidance

Authors: Luisito Bertinelli, Arnaud Bourgain, Seydi Ababacar Dieng & Jean-Paul Diagne

ISSN: 2709-8575
Affiliations: N/A
Source: African Multidisciplinary Tax Journal, Volume 6, Issue 1 (2026)

Abstract

This paper examines corporate income taxation in Senegal using firm-level data from the Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de la Démographie (ANSD), covering nearly the entire formal private sector over the period 2008–2019. This study uses firms’ effective tax rates (ETRs) to assess the actual corporate tax burden and identify the main determinants of tax avoidance. Particular attention is paid to the effects of the 2013 tax reform. Empirical results show that effective tax rates increased overall after the 2013 reform but declined for large firms. These findings are robust across alternative specifications and measures of effective taxation. The results support a review of tax incentives and exemptions, particularly those benefiting large and export-oriented firms.

Governance and Tax Revenue Mobilisation in Benin

by | Aug 6, 2026 | AMTJ, AMTJ 2026 I1

Governance and Tax Revenue Mobilisation in Benin

Authors: Hounmenou Mahoutondji Jonas & Honlonkou Albert N’lédji

ISSN: 2709-8575
Affiliations: N/A
Source: African Multidisciplinary Tax Journal, Volume 6, Issue 1 (2026)

Abstract

Revenue mobilisation has become one of the major challenges facing African countries in general, and Benin in particular, in financing their various development programmes. This paper aims to analyse the effect of governance on tax revenue in Benin. Theoretically, good governance is assumed to improve the level of revenue mobilisation. This hypothesis is tested empirically using secondary data from the World Bank covering the period 1970 to 2023. Results obtained from a dynamic approach based on an error-correction model show that economic and political governance have a positive impact on tax revenue mobilisation in Benin. Institutional governance, however, does not currently appear to affect revenue mobilisation, which may be explained by the persistent weakness of this indicator over the entire period analysed.

Potential of Tax Resources in WAEMU Member States: Estimating the VAT Gap and Its Determinants

by | Aug 6, 2026 | AMTJ, AMTJ 2026 I1

Potential of Tax Resources in WAEMU Member States: Estimating the VAT Gap and Its Determinants

Author: Isaac Amedanou

ISSN: 2709-8575
Affiliations: N/A
Source: African Multidisciplinary Tax Journal, Volume 6, Issue 1 (2026)

Abstract

This paper focuses on estimates of the VAT gap in WAEMU Member States using the “top-down approach” and conducts econometric analysis to help understand the nature and causes of the VAT gap, and to identify country-specific characteristics that appear related to different levels of the VAT gap. The VAT gap is the difference between the theoretical VAT liability and the VAT actually collected, expressed in relative terms as a share of theoretical VAT liability. Across all Member States, the overall VAT gap stood at 68% in 2006 and declined, on average, by approximately 7 percentage points to 61% by 2015. At the country level, the estimated VAT gap ranges from 37.7% in Togo to 64.9% in Côte d’Ivoire. Econometric analysis, using Panel Corrected Standard Errors, robust OLS regression, and IV methods, was conducted to identify the factors that explain the different levels of the VAT gap. Two variables were found to have the strongest relationship with the level of the VAT gap: the VAT gap share increases with the final consumption ratio-to-GDP of households and non-profit institutions serving households, and, when the VAT burden (the ratio of theoretical VAT liability to GDP) is included as a candidate explanatory variable, a significantly positive association with the VAT gap emerges. After accounting for the risk that this correlation could be biased by measurement errors through IV regression, the relationship becomes negative and significant.

Examining the Convergence of Fiscal Effort Among Municipal Administrations in Benin

by | Aug 6, 2026 | AMTJ, AMTJ 2026 I1

Examining the Convergence of Fiscal Effort Among Municipal Administrations in Benin

Authors: Calixe B. Alakonon, Alastaire S. Alinsato & Laurent M. Hounsa

ISSN: 2709-8575
Affiliations: N/A
Source: African Multidisciplinary Tax Journal, Volume 6, Issue 1 (2026)

Abstract

One of the challenges of successful decentralisation is local governments’ capacity to mobilise tax revenue efficiently. This paper aims to analyse the convergence of fiscal effort among municipal administrations in Benin. To address this, the paper estimates a three-stage stochastic frontier model following Kumbhakar et al. (2014), alongside a dispersion analysis. The data used are a panel of Benin’s seventy-seven (77) municipalities over the period 2008 to 2020, drawn from statistics of Benin’s National Commission for Local Finance (CONAFIL). The results show that temporary fiscal effort (TER) stands at 67.5%, permanent fiscal effort (KHTE) at 25.4%, and the average overall fiscal effort (OTE) of Benin’s municipalities at 17.3%. The results also show weak convergence of fiscal effort among municipalities. Finally, resource transfers received by municipalities, population density, and municipal status are found to have a significant negative influence on municipal fiscal effort. These results suggest the need to strengthen staffing levels and quality, to introduce performance-based criteria for access to central government grants, and to encourage the sharing of experience among municipalities regarding tax-collection strategies.

“Best Practices” Under Influence: Political Ideology, Tax Design and Mining Rent Sharing in the Copper Industry

by | Aug 6, 2026 | AMTJ, AMTJ 2026 I1

“Best Practices” Under Influence: Political Ideology, Tax Design and Mining Rent Sharing in the Copper Industry

Authors: Isaac Amedanou, Yannick Bouterige & Bertrand Laporte

ISSN: 2709-8575
Affiliations: N/A
Source: African Multidisciplinary Tax Journal, Volume 6, Issue 1 (2026)

Abstract

Our study addresses the issue of tax design and rent sharing for the main copper producing countries in Africa and Latin America. We use an original database to construct our mining tax policy indicator, and combine it with four other databases to study its determinants. We pay particular attention to forms of governance, the broader political context, and government party affiliations, to explain mining tax policies. Our main results indicate that democratic regimes are more likely to capture a larger share of the rent compared to autocratic ones. Beyond regime type, the institutional setting itself plays a critical role in shaping rent distribution, as does transparency. Evidence further suggests that left-wing governments capture a larger share of the rent compared to right-wing ones. Finally, these findings contribute to the social anthropology literature on “travelling models”, which are designed by international experts on the basis of supposedly universal mechanisms.