(Ecofin Agency) - In Cote d’Ivoire, press leaders recently asked the government for a tax relief. The request was made after a seminary that gathered them on September 22-23, 2016 in Yamoussoukro, the capital.

The requested tax reform should allow press companies to benefit from a number of measures, of which the cancellation of tax arrears from the firms’ creation to December 31, illegibility to the reimbursement procedure for Value Added Tax (VAT), patent exemption for three (3) years, industrial and commercial benefits for flat taxes and on wages.

The report of the seminary held in Yamoussoukro states that Ivorian press companies are suffering a “very heavy” tax regime. Tax relief is thus necessary to “promote their development and viability”. Such was the main issues debated during the meeting which was under the theme: “From paper to audiovisual and digital: which tax reform to foster the development and viability of press companies in Cote d’Ivoire”

The seminary also helped evaluate how much written press has regressed in Cote d’Ivoire. Indeed, newspapers sales have been slumping since 2000. “Within 5 years, sales of local dailies fell by 59% from 26,810,252 copies in 2011 to 10,999,073 in 2015,” the report states.

Online press does not fare much better neither as many companies operating on this segment are still informal.