On Tuesday, September 30, 2025, in Brazzaville, the Congolese government, represented by the Minister of Finance, Budget, and Public Portfolio, Christian Yoka, and his colleague, the Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises and Crafts, Jacqueline Lydia Mikolo, met with representatives of the private sector to discuss the tax guidelines of the 2026 Finance Bill.

This exchange, organized two weeks before the bill is submitted to Parliament (which will open its budget session on Wednesday, October 15, 2025), aimed to present the new taxes and gather proposals from the business community that could be incorporated into the draft bill before its finalization.

“The provisions of the 2026 Finance Law are particularly influenced by the latest Directives of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), which address, respectively, the ‘Taxation of Income and Profits’ and the ‘Book of Tax Procedures,’” stated Minister Christian Yoka.

These measures are part of Directive No. 0119/25-UEAC-177-CM-42, which aims to standardize taxation within the CEMAC zone by 2025, with adaptations, notably according to the accounting system of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA).

According to him, the transposition of the Directive on income will bring about two major changes to the ‘Individual Income Tax’ and the ‘Corporate Profit Tax’.

Indeed, given the abuses related to the Personal Income Tax (IRPP), Christian Yoka mentioned the elimination of this tax in the 2026 Finance Bill. "It is replaced by four concepts encompassing the seven income categories that comprised it. These four taxes will be: the Tax on Wages and Salaries; the Tax on Income from Movable Capital; the Tax on Property Income; and the Tax on Business Profits. All four taxes lose the personal nature of the IRPP: marital status, number of children, and family allowances will no longer be taken into account. There will no longer be any concept of a tax household or a distinction in taxation between married and single women," he explained.

The Government's aim, he emphasized, is to lower rates and broaden the tax base, while simultaneously seeking to improve the tax burden. In his opinion, this is a sensible and realistic tax policy, which will obviously rely on taxpayers' civic responsibility.

The Monetary Authority indicated that the Government's objective is to increase tax revenues by 17% next year. "Expenditure will increase within the framework of our budget, but only by 3%. The objective is to control spending, as this is the only way to control the level of debt. The major challenge is to address this debt, particularly on the regional market, which is stifling Congo." “Ultimately, to achieve the objectives of the 2026 Finance Bill, Minister Christian Yoka is counting on the “climate of trust” that must exist between the tax administration and taxpayers, through, for example, the adoption of a tax pact and the organization of conferences… Within the framework of this collaboration, “you are the true partners of the State,” he affirmed to his interlocutors.

The wishes and suggestions of the Government’s interlocutors

The Government’s interlocutors expressed their wish that tax audits be risk-based; that the incentives for tax auditors be reduced; that excise duties (on sugary drinks and tobacco) be reviewed; that the State take a measure to exempt food supplements from taxation; and another measure regarding the transfer of tax credits to a third party.

” Among the suggestions, the business community urged the government to promote online filing and payment of duties and taxes.

The Communications Unit of the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Public Portfolio