-The three-day Forum holding in Yaounde, from 15 to 17 November, was placed under the high patronage of President Paul Biya
By Victorine Ngum in Yaounde
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| Cameroon’s Minister of Finance, Alamine Ousmane Mey talks to the press, as Josee Maria GARDE, Chair of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange, and the Cameroon Director General of Taxation, Modeste Mopa Fatoing listen from behind |
Placed under the distinguished patronage of the President of the Republic of Cameroon, the 10th General Assembly of the Global Forum has as objective to enforce standards of transparency and information exchange in the area of taxation.
Billed to run from 15 to 17 November 2017, the Global Forum is also an avenue for peers in the domain of taxation to review norms of practice and information sharing.
Over 250 delegates from 137 member countries and jurisdictions are taking part in the Forum that was officially opened on Wednesday, by Cameroon’s Finance Minister, Alamine Ousmane, sitting for the Prime Minister. Representatives from over 12 international organizations including the IMF, World Bank, Centre for Meetings and Studies of Directors of Tax Administrations (CREDAF) and the EU are also attending.
Participants at the Forum are expected to review the annual activities of the GF and the stakes related to the evolution of the standards for transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes. They shall equally examine the main orientations and the way forward for the GF, according to a release from the Cameroon Ministry of Finance.
It should be mentioned however, that, though Cameroon joined the Global Forum in 2012, she has yet to effectively quantify the extent of tax evasion by multi-national companies operating in the country.
Yet, it is believed that because these companies operate simultaneously here and in many other countries around the world, they can easily transfer their fiscal burden from Cameroon to these countries, especially those with more favorable tax levies. And in so doing they evade taxes in Cameroon.
Cameroon’s membership of the Global Forum is therefore with the aim to seek better ways of tackling such fiscal flight and fraud, by using mainly procedures decided jointly with peers of the Global Forum.
“Mechanisms applied to curb tax fraud and evasion are twofold - International and national. Internationally Cameroon seeks bilateral and multilateral cooperation with other countries to stem tax fraud,” says the Director of Legislation and International Tax relations at the Directorate General of Taxation, Roland Atanga Fongue.
Atanga noted that as a member of the Global forum, Cameroon joins other members and jurisdictions to exchange information on practices and ways of tackling fiscal fraud and evasion.
He explained that though multi-nationals are the most prone to tax evasion and fraud, national companies are also involved, warranting strategies to be put in place locally to track down fraudsters.
Speaking at the Forum’s opening ceremony Wednesday, Mrs Josee Maria GARDE, Chair of the Global Forum called for more commitment on the part of political authoriies of member countries.
For his part, Finance Minister Alamine Ousmane Mey noted that Cameroon’s hosting of the Forum is opportune and imperative, especially because the country needs to adopt new strategies and redouble efforts in the fight against fiscal fraud this so as to render the fight more effective.
“Cameroon is committed more than ever to supporting all efforts aimed to fight international tax fraud and evasion, as well as illicit cash flows this, in a bid to promoting a more transparent tax environment and creating an enabling climate for the optimal mobilisation of tax revenue,” Alamine Ousmane said, affirming that though exact figures of the benefits to Cameroon since joining the Forum cannot be immediately calculated, the government of Cameroon cannot relent in its efforts to fight tax fraud and evasion.
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