Traders Accuse Société Binyam of Extortion

The traders claim Binyim levies high taxes on them and they do injustice in the levy.

Some traders of the New Bell Gare A market of complained of paying too many taxes and that there are a lot of injustice which the Company Binyam does in levying them with taxes. The traders gave different rates which they pay irrespective of what the activity they carryout in the market. A trader who sells mangoes by the roadside said each day he is levied FCFA 500, while a lady close by to him pays FCFA 100 each day.
Binyam is a company which controls New Bell Gare A market in terms of taxes and represents the Douala City Council in that market and at the same time also controls the tax which has to be handled by the Douala II council in the market.
Talking to Ndedi Thomas Lerond, the Secretary General of Société Binyam, he said traders tell a lot of lies because some of them what to benefit but do not want to pay at all. He clarified the issue of the taxes by quoting a decree of 20th December, 2002 signed by the former Prime Minister, Peter Mafany Musonge, which established the various taxes traders have to pay in the market.
According to the decree, he stated, all traders have to pay the tax Droit de Place which has to be FCFA250 per day. But he said they decided not to follow as stated by the decree but dropped it to FCFA 100 per day for those who sell on the floor. But those who own shops in the market pay FCFA 3000. This tax he said is controlled by the City Council. Added to this tax is the Occupation Temporaire pour la Voie Publique, OTVP, which is paid by those who sell by the road side because that is occupying government space temporarily. It is also FCFA 100 and collected by the Douala II Council.
There is also Impôt Libératoire also paid to the Douala II council and the amount depends on the kind of activity each trader carries out and the volume of activity. It is ranked according to A-E. The Council clashes with the Centre Divisionnaire de Impôts, CDI, as far as this tax is concerned.
Ndedi added that there some traders pay who pay trimester and for a space of two metres square the trader pays FCFA 18,000 while those who have kiosk by the roadside pay FCFA 1500 per month.
There is another tax he said which is paid by those who rent shops from others in the market and the tenant pays the rent fee to the owner of the shop and then pays a tax to CDI and the owner of the shop intends pays too to the CDI. He said sometimes these traders should not be blamed because of the many taxes.
EFFA TAMBENKONGHO