Tax Revenues Generate 22.4b Br in December

Jan 23 , 2021


Tax revenues have generated 22.4 billion Br in December, around five percent more than the targeted amount and over four billion Birr higher than what was collected over the same period last year. The Ministry of Revenues managed to collect around 12.4 billion Br from domestic taxes, overshooting its intended target of 10.7 billion Br and exhibiting a growth of 43.5pc from the same period last year. It targeted to bring in 3.5 billion Br in direct taxes, but collected over 7.7b Br, posting a 4.1 billion Br upside from the amount recorded the previous year. Almost five times the planned amount of corporate tax was collected, contributing significantly to the huge surplus, according to the Ministry. The Ministry planned to collect over seven billion Birr in indirect taxes but only managed 4.6 billion Br, a 7.5pc decline from last year. Additionally, it gathered 3.3 billion Br in customs tax, significantly lower than the 3.9 billion Br it intended to collect. The Ministry also fell short of its goals to collect 1.3 billion Br in excise tax and 2.1 billion Br in surtax, registering only 800 million Br and 1.8 billion Br, respectively. Import VAT accounted for 3.3 billion Br of the revenues. The report also shows that the Ministry earned around 344.7 million Br from confiscating contraband goods and illicit money over the reporting period. The goods include smuggled vehicles, clothes, electronics and tobacco products, as well as drugs, food and beverages.


Radar

Digital Heights for Coop Bank, Profits Dip

The Cooperative Bank of Oromia (CBO) announced that a total transaction volume of 1.36 trillion Br was made through 489.5 million transactions on its digital platform, Coopay E-Birr. Fuel payment transactions alone reached 1.15 billion Br across 105,500 transactions. The platform added 8,959 agents, 32,840 merchants, and 3.85 million new subscribers in the year. However, at 2.51 billion Br, the Bank's gross profit before tax declined by 26pc from last year's 3.39 billion Br. Board Chai...


Radar

AI-Powered, Sharia-compliant Digital Financing for MSMEs, Consumers Debuts

ZamZam Bank, in partnership with Kifiya Financial Technology, has launched a Sharia-compliant digital financing service, "Ansar Digital Financing". The service, which the Bank asserts is Ethiopia's first, aims to transform access to financial services for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), particularly women and informal sector workers. The announcement was made during a formal launch event held at the Haile Grand Hotel last week. Melika Bedri, president of ZamZam Bank, stated that...


Radar

Local, International Firms Cooperate to Bridge Skill Mismatch

In a bid to address the pervasive skill mismatch, Geez Education & Training Plc (GET) has allied with International financial and management institutions to bridge the gap. Three international institutions, the Global Academy of Finance & Management (GAFM), the American Academy of Project Management (AAPM), and California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), have entered into a cooperation with GET at an event held last week at Skylight Hotel. Officials believe the move will con...