Gabon's 2026 revised finance bill approves 24 unquantified tax exemptions, including six for Turkish companies
via Gabon Review3 min read
Gabon's 2026 Revised Finance Bill, currently under review by the National Assembly's Finance Committee since June 10, contains a significant contradiction. Articles 9 to 36 of the bill collectively approve 24 agreements, contracts, and amendments granting exemptions from taxes, VAT, customs duties, and exit taxes. However, the bill does not provide any cost estimates for these exemptions to the public treasury. Six of these contracts benefit Turkish companies. An economist from the National Institute of Management Sciences INSG, consulted by GabonReview, described this as "the most difficult to justify." Typically, a revised budget aims to broaden the tax base when revenues fall, a measure also requested by the International Monetary Fund IMF in its discussions with Libreville. The 2026 Revised Finance Bill, however, does the opposite. The bill precisely names the beneficiary companies, including Nouvelle Gabon Mining, EBOMAF, INFRAGROUP, SUMMA, SETRAG a subsidiary of Eramet, and KARPOWERSHIP. Among the six Turkish companies, FB Müteahhitlik and SUMMA are mentioned. While the nature of each exemption is specified, its cost to public finances is not. This contradicts Article 8 of the same bill, which mandates that all tax benefits require the counter-signature of the Minister of Finance, a control measure designed to prevent unassessed exemptions. The economist noted that the bill sets a rule of prudence in Article 8 but bypasses it from Article 9 onwards. This contradiction i
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