LIST OF  STATUTORY ACTS

– Law No. 77/10 of 13 July 1977 to institute a housing fund tax amends and supplements law No. 77-27 of 6th December 1977.

 – Ordinance No 891004 of 12 December 1989 to institute an Audio visual Communication tax.

– Law No. 90-50-19 December 1990.

Finance law no 95/01 of July 1995.

– Law No 2001/017 of 18 December 2001 to review the procedures for the collection of insurance contributions.

– Law No 2004/18 of 22nd July 2004 and Law No 2004/19 of 22nd July 2004 to lay down rules applicable to regions and councils respectively.

– Law No 2007/006 of 26 December 2007, to institute the financial regime of the state.

– Law No 2008/001 of 14 April 2008 to amend and supplement some provisions of law No 96/6 of 18 January 1996.

 – Law No 2009/018 of 19 December 2009 on local Fiscal Systems.

 – Law No 2009/019 December 2009 finance law of the Republic of Cameroon for the 2010 Financial Year.

– Law No 2010/002 of 13 April 2010 on investment incentives.

– Law No .2013/066 of 28 February 2013.

– Law No 2015/019 of 21 December 2015 on the finance law of Republic of Cameroon for the 2016 financial year.

– Law No 2016/018 of 14 December 2016 finance law of the Republic of Cameroon for the 2017 financial.

 – Law No 2013/004 of 18 April which lays down Private investment in Cameroon.

ABSTRACT

The goal of the study is to increase understanding of the historical evolution of the tax system in Cameroon. The study looks at data on the distributional aspect of taxation as well as the timeframe of the most significant tax reforms. It investigates the issues with tax administration, the country’s decentralization, and local government budgets while examining the worries and triumphs associated to the implementation of tax reforms. Having a just and efficient tax system drives output, and as the country’s wealth increases, saving and investment increase, which results in the creation of jobs..

                                CHAPTER 1                

                                     GENERAL INTRODUCTION

The application of the doctrine of taxation in Cameroon is both an economic and a legal one. Economics and law have become a constituting element for education, development and growth. In this respect, since economics and law deals with humans and we are about to verify how financial principles have been applied by Cameroonians and their behavior toward it, in this write up, we examine the classical and the neo classical principles on the application of the principle in Cameroon. The objective of such will be to determine the importance of such an economic and legal doctrine in the area of public finances. We shall look at the reasons why individuals and institutions contribute to the resources of the state. Also, we shall also see the legality behind the application of the principles of taxation. It should be understood that, an economic attempt to carry out taxation without some legal incentives and disincentives may result to short term and long term consequences. So therefore, in inclusiveness we need the ordinary legal provisions to regulate, comply and enforce arrangements on human behaviors which are good and those which are otherwise. Logically, taxation is a child of morality, necessity and legality. The law substantively has been used to attribute these financial responsibilities to Cameroonians appropriately.

Today, economics is generally seen as the science of rational choice in a world of scarce resources, in this write up, we check these scarce means and the legal demand to contribute to public funds. In his book, accepting the limits of tax and economics, Alex Raskolnikov says, “lawyers continuously argue about the efficiency of tax rules and sanctions”. The law then comes in to align with some economic concepts like equity, efficiency and administrability in tax principles to significantly improve economic development in Cameroon.

Moreover, according to David A. Weisbach, Walter J. Bluon and Kearney director program in Law and Economics University of Chicago Law school US. “Taxations have long been the subject of study by both lawyers and economists. Taxation as a domain of public finance can be studied from two points of view, economics and law. Professor Lekene Donfack posits that, public finances are essentially a major aspect of public law and public persons. It could then be fairly claimed that, taxation is a function of constitutional, municipal, administrative and public finance law. The constitution of Cameroon and other statutory national and international laws, domestically gives validity to taxation in Cameroon. This is because financial resources play a primordial and decisive role in administrative and municipal actions, plans, projects, programs, decisions, functions and activities. Professor Charles Debasch says that, public funds are the modern criterion on administrative actions. The need for these financial resources is there for essential for administrative advancement.