Timber firms get deadline for payment of tax arrears

Ten timber companies in the Central African Republic (CAR), which have failed to pay tax arrears of one billion francs CFA (US $2 million), have until April to do so or face sanctions, state-owed Radio Centrafrique reported on Friday. "We fixed a deadline that is very reasonable," Michel Sallet, the minister for water and forestry, said after a meeting with the managing directors of the timber firms on Friday. However, he did not specify the sanctions that would apply for companies that failed to meet the deadline. The April deadline was fixed after Sallet withdrew licences for 10 other timber firms for failing to pay taxes. This decision was made as the government struggled to pay civil servants' salaries. State employees received their October 2003 salaries last week after the government secured loans from local banks. Soon after overthrowing President Ange-Felix Patasse on 15 March 2003, former army chief of staff Francois Bozize suspended timber activities and his administration withdrew logging licences from firms whose legal and fiscal situation were found to be doubtful. On 13 January, Sallet set up an armed forest protection unit that will check each timber firm's fiscal situation. The timber sector is the major source of revenue for the government, ahead of mining and cotton. A national forestry conference held in September 2003 and the national reconciliation forum held in September-October 2003 recommended that the sector be rid of corruption to enable the government to pay salaries and contribute to the nation's development.