VAT in AfricaAbout the publication From an inauspicious start in the second half of the 20th century, the value added tax is now, just over five decades later, a key component of the revenue base in jurisdictions around the globe. A tax on final consumption is seen to be an important element of sound public finance policy and the VAT has clearly emerged as the preferred model for consumption taxation. Its rate of take up in Africa is not dissimilar from that in other jurisdictions, but African experience is proving unique in some respects. One of these is the signifi cant variation of VAT legislation in Africa, refl ecting the extent to which jurisdictions, sometimes neighbouring countries, have turned to fundamentally diff erent models as the basis for their own VAT laws. Another special characteristic of African VAT is the extent to which implementation of the VAT has exposed the need for broader institutional reform and modernisation of revenue administrations. And finally, authorities have found that VAT poses unique challenges in African economies in which commercial arrangements range from traditional economies through to globalised and electronic transactions in the same marketplace. Much younger than the VAT, the African Tax Institute also enjoyed a modest start, commencing its program of providing training to African tax administrators in 2002 as the Southern African Tax Institute, as it was then known. It has accomplished much in a short time. To date more than 600 government tax offi cials from 21 African countries have benefi ted from one or more training modules or workshops off ered by ATI and its predecessor body. In addition to its formal training program, ATI is committed to developing opportunities for African administrators to access African and international expertise through specialised conferences and seminars and to make the proceedings of these forums available to wider audiences. A number of the papers in this volume, the inaugural book sponsored by the institute, derive from a VAT in Africa conference sponsored and hosted by the ATI, with support from the Taxation Law and Policy Research. About the editor: Richard Krever is a professor in the Department of Business Law and Taxation, Monash University, Caulfield. |
Common terms and phrases
acquisitions activities African VAT apply Article audit Botswana cash casino CEMAC Directive central VAT consumer Côte d’Ivoire countries credit for input customs effective European example exempt financial services exempt supplies exports FCFA financial services gambling transactions Ghana GST Act imported imposed Income tax input tax credits invoice jurisdictions lease Lesotho lottery modern VAT non-monetary prizes operate output tax payment place of consumption place of supply place of taxation player proxy public bodies purchases real property recipient refund claims registered person revenue authorities reverse charge Rwanda sales tax scheme South Africa Stamp duty supplier supply of services tax administration tax authorities tax period tax-exclusive taxable output taxable persons taxable supplies taxation rules threshold traditional VAT Transfer tax UEMOA Directive Value Added Tax VAT Act VAT exempt VAT laws VAT or sales VAT rate VAT refund VAT revenue VAT systems VAT treatment Zealand Zealand model zero-rated
Popular passages
Page 220 - Sixth Council Directive (77/388/EEC) of 17 May 1977 on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment (OJ 1977 L 145, p.
Page 220 - Article 22(1) of the sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes— Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment.
Page 233 - Customs warehousing procedure" means the Customs procedure under which imported goods are stored under Customs control in a designated place (a Customs warehouse) without payment of import duties and taxes...
Page 191 - ... (c) the place of the supply of services relating to : - cultural, artistic, sporting, scientific, educational, entertainment or similar activities, including the activities of the organizers of such activities, and where appropriate, the supply of ancillary services; - ancillary transport activities such as loading, unloading, handling and similar activities...
Page 177 - origin principle" requires that tax be paid at the rate of, and to, the country or countries in which the item is produced rather than consumed. "Exemption...
Page 109 - OLaw on Amendment of and Addition to a Number of Articles of the Law on Foreign Investment in VietnamO (1992) (hereinafter 6 1992 AmendmentsO).
Page 71 - The views expressed here, and any remaining errors, are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the view of the European Commission.
Page 72 - Articles 74 to 77, the taxable amount shall include everything which constitutes consideration obtained or to be obtained by the supplier, in return for the supply, from the customer or a third party, including subsidies directly linked to the price of the supply.
Page 150 - ... days. Post-refund audits are conducted at least once a year on two or three claims submitted in the past 12 months by gold and silver claimants. If the post-refund audits detect persistent inaccurate claims, the gold or silver status of a claimant is withdrawn. Refund claims from taxpayers without gold or silver status are processed (paid or denied) within the statutory deadline. Claims are selected for pre-refund verification in the following circumstances...
Page 147 - With similar objectives in mind, one country (Bulgaria) required, until recently, its business enterprises to deposit the VAT due on their supplies into special bank accounts, thereby locking away a portion of the enterprises' working capital. A distinguishing feature of these schemes is that they subject registered businesses to additional compliance costs, and therefore raise questions about the extent to which the business sector should be expected to bear the costs of tax administration. Another...