The military regimes of Mali and Niger announced in a joint communiqué on Tuesday that they were denouncing their double taxation agreements with France, continuing the unravelling of ties with Paris and the tightening of their own relations. In their communiqué, the governments of the two Sahelian countries cited “France’s persistent hostile attitude against our States” and “the unbalanced nature of these agreements, which are causing a considerable loss of revenue for Mali and Niger”. The agreements will come to an end “within three months”, they say. It is not immediately clear what the practical implications of these denunciations will be: the French tax authorities’ website states that France has been bound to Mali and Niger since 1972 and 1965 respectively by conventions “aimed at avoiding (“eliminating” in the case of Niger) double taxation and establishing rules for reciprocal assistance” in tax matters.
The agreements cover personal and corporate income tax, inheritance tax and registration duties.
This denunciation is the latest act in the unravelling of Mali’s and Niger’s ties with France since the military seized power by force in Bamako in 2020 and Niamey in 2023. The authorities of another Sahelian country, Burkina Faso, whose soldiers take over in 2022, had already denounced the tax treaty with France a few months ago.
The three countries, faced with jihadism and similar issues, formed an alliance this year, and their foreign ministers have just proposed the creation of a confederation.
With AFP
