Senegal aims to raise tax collection to cut reliance on external funding
DAKAR, June 3 (Reuters) - Senegal plans to boost tax compliance to increase revenue and reduce reliance on financing from external sources like the International Monetary Fund, its Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has said.
The West African nation is engaging with the IMF to craft a resolution following a case of misreporting of debt and deficit levels, which led to the suspension of its $1.8 billion financing programme with the Fund.
"Good tax reform... can help us withstand the 250 billion CFA francs ($437.64 million) that the IMF gives us every year," Sonko was quoted as telling Senegalese nationals living in Guinea by Le Soleil newspaper on Tuesday.
Sonko's office did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Senegal has not received any disbursements from the IMF for a year, the paper quoted the prime minister as saying.
"Senegal is still standing... a country does not develop by being held by the hand, but by building on its own strengths, its own resources, and its own budgetary discipline," he said.
The government will make all Senegalese pay their fair share of taxes, the paper reported the prime minister as saying, to avoid raising taxes.
The revelations of Senegal's understated debt have pummelled its assets.
Senegal's dollar bonds have made losses of 7.3% for investors this year so far, according to a JPMorgan bond index, compared with the average gains of 3% for its Africa peers in the same time.
The losses are also double the second worst performing African sovereign, Angola, whose bonds have handed investors losses of 1.5% since the start of this year.
Senegal has resorted to increased debt issuance at the regional debt market, including a 405 billion CFA francs ($708.97 million) bond issued in April, attracting criticism from the opposition, which is demanding more debt transparency from the government.
($1 = 571.2500 CFA francs)
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