Tuesday saw a joint statement from the military regimes in Mali and Niger, which furthered the deterioration of their relationship with Paris by announcing that they were rejecting their double taxation agreements with the French government.
The two Sahelian nations’ governments cited “the unbalanced nature of these agreements, which cause a considerable loss of revenue for Mali and Niger” and “France’s persistent hostile attitude against our States” in their statement.
According to them, the agreements will expire “within three months”.
The French tax authorities’ website states that since 1972 and 1965, respectively, conventions “tending to avoid (“eliminate” for Niger) double taxation and to establish rules of reciprocal assistance” in tax matters have connected France with Mali and Niger.
The agreements address registration requirements, inheritance tax, and personal and corporate income tax.
Since the military took over in Bamako in 2020 and Niamey in 2023, Mali and Niger’s relations with France have been progressively deteriorating, with this denunciation being the most recent development. A few months prior, the authorities of Burkina Faso, another Sahelian nation overrun by the military in 2022, had already criticised the tax agreement with France.
This year, the three nations formed an alliance in response to jihadism and related issues; their foreign ministers have now suggested forming a confederation.
