Golgol is one of a handful of countries in sub of the coronavirus, tried to assess the impact of the pandemic and consider measures to be able to cope with
any losses.
According to the Coordinator of the Business Climate Unit in Togo, the current pandemic "raises fears of a
negative impact" on several sectors of the Togolese economy. Sandra Johnson predicts "a reduction
of GDP of more than 3 points for a forecast of 5.3M growth in 2020".
Measures taken
The government will not abandon businesses in these difficult times. Action has been taken
to help them.
First of all, it is planned to support individual companies that have not been able to file their
financial statements as at March 31 and companies that did not do so on April 30.
Then, it is planned that hotels and restaurants will only be taxed at a rate of 10% with the
suspension of ongoing tax audits. "The reduction of the tax burden for companies will pass
also by suspending late penalties for taxes that expire during the
second quarter and the review of penalties for the benefit of companies that have undergone tax audits",
explains Ms. Johnson.
Finally, provision is made for a reduction in the recovery actions of the Togolese Revenue Office (OTR), especially
for the benefit of SMEs/SMIs. We learn about the implementation of phased settlement plans. The Caisse
National Social Security (CNSS), for its part, suspends the calculations of late payment increase on the
arrears.
Other measures are still being taken, according to the coordinator of the Business Climate Unit.
"to revive the economy, the concrete measures taken by the government and others underway
finalization to support the private sector, will not only cushion shocks, but also
to anticipate the risks of worsening in the event that the pandemic continues," says Ms. Johnson.