Algeria’s National Association of Tax Advisers has once again denounced a tax pressure that applies to a small number of taxpayers, leaving several others out of the tax system.
“We have a very high tax burden, but it only affects a part of the population. Other people find ways to get out of the system,” said Boubekeur Sellami, the Association’s chairman.
Like many countries in Africa, Algeria also seems to be facing a large informal sector that accounts for nearly 50% of the economy. But another problem in this country is that most of the budget revenues are provided by the oil sector. However, because oil prices have been dropping since 2014, the Algerian government, like many other oil-dependent countries, has had to adjust its resource mobilization strategy.
Arbitrations are all the more difficult for the authorities in place, especially since Algeria is going through a post-Abdelaziz Bouteflika transition period, which is marked by permanent demonstrations in the country's major cities.
The National Association of Tax Advisors recommends a broadening of the tax base. But this does not seem an obvious thing to do at the moment, at least until the current administration has received all the required legitimacy.
Idriss Linge