Cameroon has introduced a new local taxation reform that transfers the collection of municipal taxes and levies from councils to the central government.
The decision follows a joint order signed by Finance Minister Louis Paul Motaze and Decentralisation Minister Georges Elanga Obam under the implementation of the 2024 local taxation law. The Directorate General of Taxation will now oversee the issuance and recovery of local taxes previously handled by councils and city councils.
Under the reform, Decentralised Territorial Collectivities will only maintain monitoring units responsible for identifying taxpayers, sharing information with tax authorities, tracking collections, and preparing reports. These units will not directly collect revenue and can only be created with approval from state representatives.
The reform is expected to disrupt several council-managed revenue systems, especially in the advertising sector where private collection agreements were widely used. Many of those arrangements had long faced criticism over legal irregularities and lack of transparency.
Analysts say the move strengthens state control over local finances while reducing the financial independence of councils. The reform has also revived debate over the true scope of decentralisation and local governance in Cameroon.
