Democratic Republic of the Congo: Selected Issues

IMF Staff Country Reports, July 15, 2024

Source details

Canonical URL

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Selected Issues

Other formats

• Markdown version
• Structured JSON version
• Bundle manifest

Bibliographic details

• Published: July 15, 2024
• Series: IMF Staff Country Reports
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400283451.002

Summary of key findings

• Domestic revenue mobilization (DRM) in the DRC improved during the Extended Credit Facility ECF program, standing at 13.7 percent over gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, though it remains persistently low relative to peer countries.
• Recent improvements in revenue mobilization have been driven by stronger corporate income taxation (particularly stemming from the extractive sector).
• A comparison between DRC’s and peer countries’ tax structure points to significant room for boosting domestic revenues with stronger mobilization of:
  • personal income taxes,
  • taxes on international trade and transactions,
  • goods and services.
• The country’s tax potential, estimated on the basis of its structural characteristics and a stochastic frontier model, points to significant scope for improving the tax-to-GDP ratio, by about 10 percentage points under more efficient tax policy and tax collection.
• Tax administration reforms based on recommendations from the Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool report can significantly contribute to boosting DRM, with particular focus on tax-avoidance in the mining sector.

Policy implications and recommendations

• Strengthen personal income tax mobilization through policy and administrative measures to widen the tax base and improve compliance.
• Enhance taxation of international trade and transactions and goods and services to align DRC’s tax structure more closely with peers.
• Implement tax policy and tax collection reforms aimed at capturing the estimated tax potential (about 10 percentage points of GDP).
• Prioritize tax administration reforms from the Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool report, with targeted actions to address tax-avoidance in the mining/extractive sector.
• Leverage continued corporate income taxation gains from the extractive sector while reducing reliance on a narrow tax base.

Key metadata and publication facts

• Pages: 22
• Issue: 227
• Volume: 2024
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400283451.002
• ISBN: 9798400283451
• ISSN: 1934-7685
• Publication date: July 15, 2024
• Subjects: Budget planning and preparation; Expenditure; Fiscal policy; Public financial management (PFM); Revenue administration; Revenue mobilization; Tax administration core functions
• Keywords: budget credibility; Budget planning and preparation; DRC authorities; DRC mining sector revenue; General Public service; implemented budget; Revenue mobilization; spending credibility; Sub-Saharan Africa; Tax administration core functions

International Monetary Fund. "Democratic Republic of the Congo: Selected Issues", IMF Staff Country Reports 2024, 227 (2024), July 15, 2024.

Content in this bundle

• Democratic Republic of the Congo: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 24/227; June 21, 2024
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 24/227; June 21, 2024 (Markdown version)
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 24/227; June 21, 2024 (PDF)