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Business Visibility and Taxation in Northern Cameroon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 October 2013

José-María Muñoz
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Abstract:

Through an analysis of the taxation of business activities in Adamaoua Province, Cameroon, this article aims to provide ethnographic substance to current debates about the “tax effort” in sub-Saharan Africa. Although the current mission of the tax authorities to identify all potential taxpayers and track their locations, movements, and activities is often presented in the context of nationwide reform and a commitment to making all taxable enterprises visible, a close examination of the government's practices reveals other factors at work. The case of cattle traders in particular shows that taxation policies in Adamaoua today are based on an interplay between, on the one hand, modes of state control and levels of administrative ef-ficiency, and on the other, longstanding repertoires of business practice and idioms of documentation.

Résumé:

Résumé:

À travers une analyse de la fiscalisation des activités commerciales dans la région de l' Adamaoua au Cameroun, cet article vise à fournir un contexte ethnographique aux débats actuels sur “l'effort fiscal” en Afrique subsaharienne. Bien que la mission actuelle des autorités d'identifier et de suivre les mouvements et activités de contribuables potentiels soit souvent présentée comme un engagement à la transparence dans un contexte de réforme nationale, une analyse détaillée des pratiques administratives révèle que d'autres facteurs sont en jeu. Si l'on regarde le cas particulier des marchands de bétail, il semble que la politique de mobilisation fiscale en Adamaoua se base d'un côte sur les méthodes gouvernementales de contrôle et les niveaux efficacité administrative, et de l'autre sur les precédés commerciaux en vigueur et les pratiques documentaires de longue date.

Type
Articles
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 53 , Issue 2 , September 2010 , pp. 149 - 175
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2010

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