2025-06-16-IMF-西非经货联盟国内收入动员（英）_21页_1mb

Summary of Domestic Revenue Mobilization in WAEMU

Core Content

This document provides an analysis of Domestic Revenue Mobilization (DRM) in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), focusing on the challenges and opportunities for enhancing tax collection and revenue administration. It outlines the progress made over the past two decades, the current state of tax systems, and policy recommendations to improve tax performance and regional cohesion.

Main Points

1. Importance of DRM in WAEMU

• DRM is essential for financing economic and social development, ensuring debt sustainability, and supporting fiscal consolidation.
• The region faces rising interest rates, high security spending, and a projected decline in foreign aid, making domestic revenue more critical than ever.
• The suspended Convergence Pact included a secondary criterion of a 20% tax-to-GDP ratio, which remains a key benchmark for regional fiscal performance.

2. Trends in Revenue and Tax Performance

• Total revenue in WAEMU increased from 11% to 17% of GDP between 2001 and 2023, with tax revenue rising from 10% to 14% of GDP.
• Tax revenue accounts for over 80% of total revenue on average across WAEMU countries.
• Despite growth, the region is still far from the 20% tax-to-GDP target, and it will take until 2048 to reach it based on current trends.
• There is significant heterogeneity in tax revenue performance across countries, with Senegal and Mali leading the way, while others lag.

3. Tax Revenue Sources

• WAEMU has been transitioning from trade taxes to income and consumption taxes.
• VAT and income taxes are the main revenue sources, with property and other taxes remaining low but showing some growth.
• The Common External Tariff (CET) has been in place since 2000 and has been extended to ECOWAS in 2015.
• Statutory tax rates are harmonized regionally, but actual tax collection remains below potential due to structural and administrative issues.

4. Tax Potential and Performance Gaps

• A stochastic frontier model is used to estimate tax potential, showing the gap between actual and potential tax revenue.
• The tax gap varies by country, with Benin having the highest and Guinea-Bissau the lowest.
• Some countries, such as Benin and Burkina Faso, have seen an increase in inefficiencies, indicating room for improvement.
• The document highlights that structural limitations, such as narrow tax bases and high informality, are major obstacles to revenue mobilization.

5. Progress in DRM

• The WAEMU region has made strides in DRM, including:
  • Transitioning from trade taxes to domestic revenue sources.
  • Limiting tax exemptions and preferential regimes.
  • Reforming tax systems, such as Mali’s General Tax Code and Guinea-Bissau’s VAT law.
  • Implementing digital tools and improving administrative capacities.
• A New DRM Action Plan (2024) was adopted, emphasizing a Medium-Term Revenue Mobilization Strategy (MTRS), but its implementation deadline appears ambitious.

Key Recommendations

For Regional Authorities

• Revise and modernize DRM directives: Update VAT, CIT, and excise tax directives to improve refund mechanisms, broaden tax bases, and address the digital economy.
• Consolidate and evaluate tax incentives: Simplify and rationalize incentives, align them with regional frameworks, and ensure compliance with global tax reforms.
• Strengthen surveillance of DRM reforms: Accelerate the inclusion of DRM measures in the New Convergence Pact, and conduct regular analytical assessments of tax practices.
• Enhance regional cooperation: Promote knowledge transfer and support national bodies through workshops and capacity development.

For National Authorities

• Ensure compliance with regional tax frameworks: Address inconsistencies in both de jure and de facto application of tax laws.
• Conduct regular tax system reviews: Focus on simplifying systems, rationalizing exemptions, and eliminating low-yield taxes.
• Strengthen tax sources outside the regional framework:
  • Property taxation: Improve systematic valuations and simplify tax codes.
  • Personal income tax (PIT): Enhance progressivity and streamline complex regimes.
  • SME taxation: Simplify compliance procedures and incentivize formalization.
• Improve revenue administration: Strengthen governance, risk management, and digital tools to enhance efficiency and transparency.

Conclusion

Despite progress in DRM over the past two decades, WAEMU countries remain below the 20% tax-to-GDP target, with significant disparities in performance. Structural challenges such as narrow tax bases, high informality, and weak enforcement continue to hinder revenue mobilization. Strengthening tax policy, improving compliance, and enhancing regional cooperation and oversight are critical to achieving sustainable and equitable revenue growth. The 2024 DRM Action Plan offers a framework for future reforms, but its success depends on tailored implementation and stronger political and institutional support.