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In the Republic of Congo, the standard rate of corporate income tax (CIT) has decreased steadily over the last decade. It was set at 36% in 2010, 35% in 2011, 34% in 2012, 33% in 2013, before stabilising at 30% in 2014. The Finance Amendment Act, 2020 (Act No. 23 of 2020) marks a new decrease. The corporate tax rate is now 28%.
However, this reduction does not concern all extractive industries. Mining companies remain subject to the 30% rate, in force since the Mining Act, 2005 (Act No. 4 of 2005), while oil companies may be subject to a higher rate in their petroleum agreement.

In the Republic of Congo, the Finance Act, 2012 (Act No. 36 of 2011) had introduced in 2012 a “tax on the negative externalities of mining and hydrocarbon extraction activities”, known as a “pollution tax”. Situated in sections 171-P1 and following of the General Tax Code, volume 1, this tax amounted to 0.2% of the turnover of mining and oil companies in the production phase. It was levied for the benefit of the central State (60%) and local authorities (40%). It was not a deductible charge from the corporate income tax base. It was repealed in 2020 by the Finance Act, 2020 (Act No. 42 of 2019) and the Finance Amendment Act, 2020 (Act No. 23 of 2020).

Updated tax data for 2020 are now available for Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Tanzania.
In Nigeria, the Finance Act increases the value added tax rate from 5% to 7.5% (Finance Act No. 1 of 2020). In addition, the rate of the minimum tax is increased from 0.25% to 0.5% of turnover. In Sierra Leone, taxation has not changed (Finance Act No. 1 of 2020). In Tanzania, loss carry-forward continues to be allowed without time limitation. However, it is now limited to 70% of the taxable profit when the company has been in loss for four consecutive years (Finance Act No. 8 of 2020).

In Nigeria, the Finance Act, 2019, has come into force in 2020 (Act No. 1 of 2020). It introduces several changes in tax rates. First, the corporate income tax (CIT) rate remains at 30% for large companies but is reduced to 20% for medium-sized companies (Section 16). Secondly, the rate of the minimum tax rate is increased from 0.25% to 0.5% of turnover (Section 14). Finally, the value added tax (VAT) rate, which has been fixed at 5% since its introduction in 1993, increases to 7.5% from February 1st 2020 (Section 34).

In Tanzania, the calculation of the corporate income tax (CIT) base allows tax losses to be carried forward for an unlimited period. Then, they can be deducted from the taxable profit of subsequent years to reduce the CIT base. However, restrictions exist to limit the tax base erosion. Since 2008, a company that carries forward losses over three consecutive years has been required to pay an alternative minimum tax. Initially set at 0.3%, since 2018 this minimum is 0.5% of the company’s turnover.
Moreover, since 2020, Section 31 of the Finance Act (Act No. 8 of 2020) adds an additional restriction. A company that carries forward losses for four consecutive years can no longer reduce the tax base before loss carry forward by more than 70%. Losses can still be carried forward without any time limit, but only up to a limit of 70% of the tax base. Such a company must therefore pay at least 30% of the CIT that would have been due without the loss carry forward.