“There was a great effort by the Government to implement measures to alleviate the companies' treasury and a quick response capacity”, acknowledged the director of the tax department of the PwC consultancy in Angola, Luís Andrade.
But, he adds, the scope of these measures is limited: "They are not enough to save business, some already fragile, and which will suffer the impact of confinement, the state of emergency and, above all, the fall in oil prices".
The Government announced a package of measures aimed at mitigating the effects of the pandemic, including the provision of about 488 billion kwanzas for the "minimum maintenance of the activity levels of the micro, small and medium-sized companies in the productive sector" and the extension of deadlines for settlement of tax obligations.
"These measures will not solve anything, there is no tax relief, there is a delay in the deadlines, a small deferral for compliance with tax obligations" which does not mean savings on the tax bill, because "there is no reduction or exemption from taxes".
As for financial support, which will be made available through credit lines, “they are to be commended” because they aim to protect the productive sector, in particular the production of basic goods from the food basket, but leave out other companies linked to industry, services or to the oil sector, noted Luís Andrade.
The consultant argues that the Government could have gone further, adopting other measures with an impact on the companies' cash flow, such as the exemption from the provisional liquidation of the industrial tax, as well as an extension of “more ambitious” terms.
It also suggests that the period for reporting losses be extended, as "companies are expected to go through a difficult period".
