The West African Giveaway: Use & abuse of corporate tax incentives in ECOWAS

This report examines corporate tax incentives and their impact in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), with a focus on four countries: Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal. ActionAid and Tax Justice Network Africa’s research shows that West Africa may be losing up to $9.6 billion a year of public revenue through governments providing corporate tax incentives in a bid to attract foreign investment.

The study argues that no government in the region appears to have evaluated whether tax incentives actually promote foreign investment and that tax incentives are being used as a substitute for policies that could promote quality investment.

Governments are encouraged to comprehensively review the incentives they are granting with an eye to reducing them, removing those that are unproductive or that do not address specific social or economic objectives.