B’da Medium-Size Tax Office goes Operational

By Ndjodzefe Nestor in Bamenda

Mopa ModesteFatoing

Promoters of medium-size enterprises in the North West region will henceforth pay their taxes at the new Medium-Size Tax Office, MTO, authorities of the taxation department in NW have announced.

                Created by Ministerial decree No 00000405 of 2 November 2015, the Bamenda Medium Size Tax Office has some 800 medium-size companies in its tax payer’s index. They are drawn from all seven administrative divisions of the North West Region who make a business turn-over ranging from FCFA 50 million to FCFA 3 billion.

The Bamenda MTO adds to seven others situated in Limbe, Baffossam, Douala and Yaounde.

                According to the Chief of North West Regional Taxation Centre, Fonyuy Fidelis Bernsah, the tax office is expected to improve the quality of services offered to the public, reduce compliance cost and enhance revenue collection for the state and decentralized territorial collectives.

                Fonyuy Fidelis also added that the office will boost the liquidity strength of the North West regional Treasury and better the working conditions of the staff of the NW taxation center.

                The creation of the office comes at a time when the North West Taxation Centre has been on the spotlight regarding their brilliant performance as regards the collection of state revenue. Although made up of only average and small tax payers, the region has continued to meet its set targets.

                In the 2014 fiscal year for example, the NW collected some FCFA 6.781.000.000, up from an expected target of FCFA 4.666.000.000, representing 145.2 percent.

                At the first Semester of 2015 the NW Regional Tax Center had already fetched FCFA 3.478.600.000 from the targeted FCFA 3.056.000.000 representing 113.8 percent

                The successes which undeniably spurred the Ministry of Finance to create a medium size Tax Office in Bamenda, according to the North West Chief of Taxation Centre is thanks to the hard work and dynamism of the staff of the North West Taxation Center and the patriotism of the Tax payers of the north west region.

                With inspiration from organizational models applied in enterprises managing demanding clients like banks, the new organization of MTO takes into consideration the need to treat the tax payers with modesty. 

                It is for this reason that a customer service unit occupies an important place on the organigram of the MTO and is expected to respond to customers’ requests related to information, issuance of administrative documents and receipts amongst others.  

                To reduce administrative bottlenecks and the middle-man phenomenon which have been identified as a cause to tax evasion and non-compliance, the payment of taxes at the MTO will be done by bank transfers.

                To this effect, the North West Taxation boss, Fonyuy Fidelis has called on tax payers belonging to MTO and who do not have an account in an authorized banking institution to open accounts.

                Offices at the MTO are expected to be equipped with the state-of-the-art computers, outfitted with ergonomic chairs and staffed with qualified personnel to apply the new vision of taxation in Cameroon

                The MTOs are a novelty in the Ministry of Finance promoted by the Director General of Taxation, MOPA Modeste FATOING, aimed at segmenting the tax-paying population, enlarging the tax base and better administering tax policies.