Kinshasa, May 19th, 2025 (CPA) – The maturity model for the digitization of tax administration was recommended on Thursday in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, by the Directorate of Taxes, to maximize the mobilization of internal resources and combat tax evasion practices, at the closing of the regional conference on taxation for French-speaking countries. ‘We recommend the implementation of the maturity model for the digitalization of tax administration, as well as the model aimed at preventing the erosion of the tax base and the transfer of profits (BEPS), in order to maximize the mobilization of internal resources and effectively combat tax evasion practices’, said Barnabé Muakadi Muamba, Director General. ‘I would like to congratulate the speakers on the quality of their presentations and the sharing of experiences regarding the capacity-building initiatives of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Think Tank For Senior Tax Officials) (CREDAF),’ he added.
Barnabé Muakadi said that the conference was a continuation of previous regional consultations organized by the OECD, aimed at discussing the concerns of OECD member countries in the area of taxation, including needs for technical assistance with a view to developing and strengthening member countries.
He emphasized that the two-pillar solution would make it possible to meet the challenges posed by the digitization of the economy, VAT on e-commerce and the automatic exchange of information. ‘These also include the relationship of trust between tax authorities and large businesses, country-by-country reporting, taxation and health, and the gender balance maturity model, a tool for promoting gender equality within administrations’, he added.
E-commerce, a tool for combating illegal tax practices
Samia Abdelghani, Senior Tax Adviser at the OECD, pointed out that e-commerce and automatic exchange of information are important tools enabling French-speaking countries to better combat illegal tax practices and help developing countries mobilize their domestic resources to finance their growth and development. ‘Cameroon shared with us its experience in implementing VAT on e-commerce. It has already collected billions of CFA francs in additional tax revenue, and has enabled other countries to follow suit with the aim of reaping the benefits of implementing VAT on e-commerce,’ she said. At the same time, Mr Diallo Ismailla, Deputy Secretary General of CREDAF, pointed out that to combat tax evasion, it was necessary to promote good tax citizenship through good communication and taxpayer education to enable taxpayers to comply with their main tax obligations. ‘Tax audits need to be stepped up to enable taxpayers to comply with the tax provisions in force. We are in a system of declarations, because companies and individuals declare their income beforehand, and afterwards the tax authorities reserve the right to carry out a tax audit to ensure the authenticity of the declarations made’, he added. ‘We talked about international tax issues, and shared experiences on the single declaration model in member countries, on the tax taxation model and on the reforms envisaged within the tax administration’, concluded Simire Ernestine, tax auditor at the DGI.