Le régime fiscal des organisations à but non lucratif : pas de…

Document explicatif de l'administration fiscale camerounaise présentant le nouveau régime fiscal des organisations à but non lucratif issu de la Loi de Finances 2022. Il clarifie que ce régime ne crée aucun nouvel impôt mais réduit de moitié le taux d'impôt sur les sociétés (30% à 15%) sur la part des activités commerciales et supprime certaines charges (patente, impôt foncier). Le régime cible les ministères, collectivités territoriales, organisations sociales, ONG, associations et…

The tax regime for non-profit making organisations: no need to be

What is new about the tax regime for non-profit making organisations?

Up until now, the tax authorities were only able to effectively cater for taxpayers who engaged in commercial activities and who could file their turnover. Depending on their turnover, they were classified into the following categories.

global tax (turnover less than FCFA 10 million);
simplified regime (turnover between FCFA 10 million and 50 million);
actual regime (turnover of more than FCFA 50 million).

This classification left a large void for nonprofit making organisations.

The new law, therefore, addresses this situation.

Why a tax regime for non-profit making organisations now?

The tax regime for nonprofit making organisation is intended to address concerns faced by the organisations in question and the tax authorities.

For the organisations concerned, which until now have had difficulties in obtaining practical assistance from the tax authorities, the new regime will make it easier to :

obtain tax documents such as the taxpayer's registration certificate required to carry out economic operations (opening bank accounts, importation, purchase of land, etc.) and the tax clearance certificate requested by these organisations but which could not be issued before this reform;
benefit from the tax exemptions provided for by the law as well as the incentive schemes granted to taxpayers in this category.

For tax authorities, who faced difficulties in administering these organisations, the new regime :

improves the tax management of this category of taxpayers who, unlike the others, do not have a turnover
strengthens the monitoring of any taxes due by this category and harmonises the tax management of their operations by all services;
enables the fight against unfair competition from organisations that, under the guise of being non-profit making entities, carry out activities that compete with the commercial sector.

Are there any new taxes created by this tax regime for non-profit making organisations?

No new taxes are created by the 2022 Finance Law for non-profit making organisations.

All the taxes listed in the law were already in place. This is simply a clarification. Much more, these taxes have even been greatly reduced for this category. For example,

the company tax rate on the share of their commercial activities is reduced by half, from 30% to 15%;
the rate of the advance payment of the company tax on the share of their commercial activities is reduced from 2% to 1%.

Likewise, these organisations will benefit from an exemption from certain levies that were previously due, notably the business licence and the property tax.

Does the tax regime for non-profit making organisations exist only in Cameroon?

All tax legislations concerned with the good management of their taxpayers have a specific regime for non-profit organisations. This is notably the case in France as well as in some African countries such as Côte d'Ivoire, Tanzania, South Africa and Morocco.