A performance to put into perspective. 4,134 billion ariary were recovered by the general tax directorate compared to 4,786.2 billion ariary planned in the 2023 finance law. That is to say an achievement rate of 86.4%. According to detailed budget execution figures published by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
According to this ministry report, “the forecasts for several types of taxes had not been achieved. This is the case, for example, of the Income Tax (IR) collected which was 1,149.2 billion ariary against a target of 1,379.3 billion ariary. The same for the Value Added Tax which was planned at 1,643.7 billion ariary but the amount recovered was 1,283 billion ariary or even for the Tax on salary and similar income (Irsa) whose amount recovered was 703.1 billion ariary against a forecast of 717.8 billion ariary.
On the other hand, “the forecasts in terms of tax revenue recovery were nevertheless exceeded, particularly for the Income Tax on Movable Capital (IRCM) which amounted to 62.2 billion ariary against a forecast in the LFI 2023 at 54.6 billion ariary. This is also the case for the Public Procurement Tax (IMP) which was at 123.9 billion ariary against a forecast of 100.8 billion ariary”
Overall, “although the recovery objective for the DGI was not achieved, its revenues in 2023 are up 13.3%, or 486.5 billion ariary more, compared to those of 2022. This is, according to the Ministry of Finance, an improvement which is mainly attributable to the mining, banking, industrial, oil, telecommunications and service sectors.
The rate of tax pressure oscillates around 12% of gross domestic product. The importance of the informal sector has a lot to do with it. With the reluctance of taxable persons to pay their taxes.
Eric Ranjalahy