[2019-08-29] Mozambique Tax Administration expects to collect US$12 billion in tax per year from natural gas projects

Source: Macauhub

The Mozambican Tax Administration (AT) expects to collect US$12 billion a year in tax from natural gas exploration projects in the Rovuma basin in the period from 2037 to 2045, an AT Maputo official said on Wednesday.

Aníbal Mbalango, general coordinator for taxation of the extractive industry at the AT, told a conference on the theme of natural gas and the economic transformation of the country that the amount mentioned is a forecast for operational purposes only, calculated based on internationally established standards, taking into account neither the country’s fiscal scenario nor Mozambique’s economic growth indicators.

“Forecasts note 2037 as the year in which we will have annual tax revenues of US$12 billion, and the AT must be able to ensure that this amount is actually raised for the Mozambican state coffers,” he said, quoted by Mozambican news agency AIM, adding that 2037 to 2045 is considered to be the period in which the maximum amount of tax collection will occur.

Mbalango also said that in order to achieve that level of tax collection, the AT would have to better organise itself by setting up specialised teams, placing auditors in a position to analyse projects to ensure that, with the start of production, the levels of revenue start to increase.

The conference organised by the Centre for Democracy and Development, which is due to end on Thursday, aims to share information on the latest developments in the extractive industry in Mozambique, with a focus on hydrocarbons in general and the natural gas blocks of the Rovuma basin in particular.

World Bank figures indicate that Mozambique’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reached US$14.458 billion in 2018, after peaking at US$16.961 billion in 2014.