The proposed law to amend the Industrial Tax Code was presented this Wednesday at the National Assembly by the Secretary of State for the Treasury, Ottoniel dos Santos.
According to the official, this change to the Industrial Tax Code has already been made in the law that approves the General State Budget (OGE) for 2022.
"And the initiative that we bring here aims to harmonize the change initially made in the OGE law with the law that we bring here as a proposal", he said.
The official stressed that this initiative has as its main focus the activity in the oil sector.
The Secretary of State for the Treasury underlined that this amendment gives investors security and legal certainty, "in the sense of allowing investment decisions to be made based on this sustainability, from the point of view of what are the criteria and rules that must be met from a tax point of view".
"Also, in this way, automatically increase the possibility of having more foreign direct investment, mainly in marginal fields, whose investment intensity is greater, thus increasing employability", he said.
The bill was approved with 131 votes in favor of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), Broad Convergence for the Salvation of Angola–Electoral Coalition (CASA-CE) and the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), none against and 36 abstentions from the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and the Social Renewal Party (PRS).
Deputy Lindo Bernardo Tito, who was not a member of a parliamentary group, said that he abstained, "because any decision to change a tax rate must be reflected in the impact of this measure, to avoid the loss that is obtained with the non-collection of 9 percent is not definitive", and in this case the government proposal demonstrates that "the gains are subjective".
In turn, the CASA-CE parliamentary group said that it voted in favor as it considered this reduction a positive measure, despite defending that "the establishment of these rates has been erratic".
"It goes up and we contest that taxes are being increased, then they go down, it seems like a roller coaster, therefore, an erratic issue", underlined deputy André Mendes de Carvalho "Miau".
The UNITA parliamentary group said that it is not against the executive's proposal, but considers that the reduction of the industrial tax rate, which is levied on accidental services, provided by non-residents to entities resident in Angola, from 15 percent to 6,5 percent, was already made in 2014, in Law no. 19 of 2014, which approves the Industrial Tax Code, which has not been revoked or amended.
"The UNITA parliamentary group understands that there must have been some mistake on the part of the executive in proposing this amendment, which denotes a lack of administrative control of the laws that are approved and/or proposed for amendment", informing that it has already asked the Government for clarification on this amendment pending the debate in the specialty.
This Wednesday's plenary session also unanimously approved the proposals for an Organic Law on the Organization and Operation of Courts of Common Jurisdiction and the Law on Merchant Marine, Ports and Related Activities.
