Tax a significant threat to business in Africa says PwC

Tax is the second-most significant threat for companies doing business in African countries‚ after political instability‚ according to the survey.

Certainty around the tax position remains one of the main concerns for companies doing business in Africa. The Democratic Republic of Congo‚ Nigeria and Angola were considered among the most difficult countries in which to do business. SA was also considered to be a difficult place from a business and regulatory perspective.

Head of Tax for PwC Africa Paul de Chalain says: "While we see growing interest in doing business in Africa and with that foreign investment into the various countries‚ we see the need for guidance and best practice in terms of tax and regulation growing too.

"The most significant findings of PwC's second 'Africa Tax Survey' confirm that doing business in the African countries is still a big challenge. In particular‚ areas such as obtaining certainty around the application of legislation and discussing or negotiating with the tax authorities remain challenging.

"Another interesting conclusion of the survey is that tax is still considered to be one of the primary constraints to do doing business in Africa. This is somewhat disappointing‚ since business considerations should ideally be leading decision making‚ with tax matters following as a mere formality," De Chalain said.

De Chalain was speaking at PwC's 16th Africa Tax and Business Symposium‚ underway in Mauritius.