• DRC launches Copirap to streamline over 1,000 parafiscal levies
• Reform aims to ease business climate, boost investment, competitiveness
• Commission to freeze new levies, ensure funds serve priority services

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), more than 240 public bodies collect parafiscal taxes through over 1,000 different levies, a practice that burdens companies, weighs down the business climate, and reduces corporate competitiveness, Finance Minister Doudou Fwamba Likunde Li-Botayi said on Thursday.

Speaking at the launch of the Permanent Interministerial Commission for the Rationalization of Parafiscality (Copirap), the minister stated the new body aims to curb the proliferation of parafiscal levies that harm private investment and discourage the formalization of businesses.

Chaired by Prime Minister Judith Suminwa and overseen by Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Budget Adolphe Muzito, Copirap's mission is to identify, evaluate, and streamline all parafiscal taxes to make the system clearer and more transparent. It is based on an interministerial decree adopted in May that establishes the foundation for the reform.

The Prime Minister outlined six priorities for the commission: broadening the tax base without creating new taxes, ensuring collected funds are used for priority public services (health, education, infrastructure), freezing the creation of new parafiscal taxes, establishing a clear work calendar and roadmap for Copirap, allocating the necessary financial and technical resources for the commission's operation, and finally, working in synergy with all stakeholders, including ministries, parliament, civil society, the private sector, and financial partners.

Copirap will work to inventory existing levies, assess their relevance, and propose a consensual rationalization. The initiative is intended to be a strategic tool for combating the proliferation of parafiscal acts, strengthening accountability, and establishing long-term financial discipline.

The goal is to ensure the reform of parafiscal taxes not only reduces the number of levies but also makes the Congolese economy more competitive. However, for this reform to succeed, the government will need to demonstrate budgetary discipline, cooperate with the private sector by involving companies in the reform process, and show accountability by transparently reporting on how collected money is used.

Chamberline Moko