(AERC, 2006-08-01) Tabi Atemnkeng Johannes; Atabo ngawung Joseph Nju; Afeanyi Azia Theresia
This paper examines the incidence of indirect taxation in Cameroon in 1983, 1996 and
2001. Using household surveys for these three years, the paper looks into which
consumption taxes are progressive and determines if changes in tax policy influenced
the welfare of the poor. The paper suggests that the incidence of expenditure taxes changes
with the changing economic environment and reveals that the indirect tax reforms of
1994 and 1999 have been generally pro-poor. In the aggregate, consumption taxes became
more progressive than before, partly due to changing consumption patterns following
the introduction of new taxes or replacement of old ones.