Comoros, one of the poorest countries in the world, has an economy based on subsistence farming and fishing. The country’s gross domestic product as a whole has grown at a rate slightly faster than its population but is one of the lowest in the world. Since independence in 1975, assistance from the European Union (EU), in particular France, has become the mainstay of the economy; Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Kuwait also provided financial assistance.
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
Although by 1981 there were maize (maize) and coconut and poultry projects (aimed at helping Comoros achieve food self-sufficiency), the economy remained in poor shape in the early 21st century due to overpopulation. bad harvest. and severe unemployment. Subsistence agriculture provides cassava, sweet potatoes, bananas, and mountain rice (dry field), but most of the country’s food must be imported. Chickens, goats, cattle, and sheep are also raised. Plantations for growing vanilla (mainly in Grande Comoros and Anjouan), perfumery plants (in particular, ylang-ylang in Anjouan), coconuts (mainly in Moheli), coffee, cloves, cocoa, and other crops cover most of the islands. Forestry makes some contribution to total agricultural production, but forest area has been severely reduced due to a lack of arable land and as a result of ylang-ylang production.
Since Comoros is made up of islands, fisheries must make up a significant part of the market economy. However, its potential has not yet been entirely recognized. Industry only exists on a small scale, and the abundant tuna found in Comorian waters have so far been fished primarily by EU countries. The Coelacanth fish caught there provide some income for the Comorian fishermen.
Resources, capacity, and production
The utilities were privatized in 1997. Despite the presence of hydroelectric power plants, the islands continue to suffer from an unreliable supply of water and electricity. Production is usually limited to the processing of agricultural products – primarily vanilla, essential oils, cloves, and copra – for export. There are also sawmills and woodworking enterprises.
Finance and trade
The Central Bank of Comoros (Banque Centrale des Comores) issues the country’s currency, Comoros. Moroni has a commercial bank and a development bank.
Imports that are much more valuable than exports include rice, oil, meat, iron and steel, and cement. Comoros exchanges with various countries, including the Netherlands, China, Singapore, Pakistan, India, and France, and is a part of the Southern African Development Community.
Taxes
It should be noted that today in all African countries, businessmen pay the highest tax rate, which averages 68% from the activities of their enterprise. Topping the list is the Democratic Republic of the Congo with a total tax rate of 339.7 percent. In Comoros, the general tax rate is 217.9 percent, while the country’s gross national income per capita is $ 820.
The tax structure in Comoros does not provide for the payment of labor tax, in other words, the employer does not pay taxes to the social or pension insurance fund. But at the same time, there are twenty other taxes in the country, including income taxes. The term for obtaining a business license takes eight working days. It will take about a week to legalize all accounting books in court and it will cost one thousand Comorian francs for one book – it is better to carry out this formality simultaneously with the licensing of business activities.
Time loss can be avoided by ordering the company’s stamps in advance, the production of which takes a couple of days – one stamp costs 10 thousand Comoros francs. It will take one day to register your company with the Chamber of Commerce and the Social Insurance Fund, and the Chamber of Commerce will have to pay half a percent of the authorized capital.
The taxation system of Comoros is based on the French taxation system. The General Tax Code provides for a corporate tax rate of 35% on Comoros source income. Companies with over 500 million KMF revenues pay 50%.
However, income from foreign sources is not taxed. Consequently, LLCs whose only sources of income are outside Comoros do not pay any taxes.
Note: US taxpayers and all other persons liable to global income tax must report all income to their tax authorities.
Accounting
Acceptable international accounting and bookkeeping standards are required. No audits are required.
Every local company must register with the Ministry of Finance to obtain a tax identification number for tax registration and tax return filing.
Annual tax returns are required along with an annual financial statement confirming where all income came from and that taxes are not payable. Since Comoros is a territorial tax country, only income earned within its borders is subject to corporate and income tax.
