Angola Regulatory System and Infrastructure Essay Example

Angola Regulatory System and Infrastructure Essay Example Angola Regulatory System and Infrastructure Essay Angola Regulatory System and Infrastructure Essay Regulatory Angola’s ordinary corporate tax is 35 percent, with a reduced rate of 20 percent for agricultural and forestry enterprises. The government offers a variety of corporate tax exemptions, reductions, and exemptions from real estate taxes on land and buildings as investment incentives. Income tax for individual’s ranges from 1-40 percent for employees, and 3-60 percent for self employed professionals. Inheritance and gift taxes are also added along with a payroll tax for social security. The main indirect tax is manufacture’s sales tax with rates ranging from 5 percent to 50 percent on listed product (nationalencyclopedia. com). Taxation: Companies carrying out industrial and commercial activities in Angola are subject to income tax on all profits resulting from Angola. If the company has its headquarters in Angola, it will be hit with industrial tax on its profits derived from Angola and 1/3 of its gross income earned abroad. Under the new tax legislation, any income obtained outside of the country will be fully taxable. All companies, no matter if they have a permanent business in Angola, that perform contracts or subcontracts, are subject to industrial tax if the amounts paid to the companies are considered expenses for Industrial tax purposes. This will most likely be changed, because of the new definition of permanent establishment. This new definition also considers, as permanent establishment, the simple interpretation of services, if made by the presence in Angola of hired personnel, for more than 90 days within a year. This means that those companies that render services will be taxable under the general rules of the industrial tax code. Under the new legislation, capital income tax imposed on taxable dividends was raised to 10 percent. However, exemptions form industrial tax can be obtained from the Minister of Finance for new industries and investment projects in fundamental areas. The tax year is the same as the calendar year. Companies other than Angola companies operating abroad must file tax returns together with their financial statements by May 31st in the year following the tax year. Angolan companies operating abroad must file by July 31st, with advance payments of at least 50 percent of the prior years tax liability must be made by December 10th of the tax year. Final payment of tax is due on September 15th of the following year (somalipress. com). Personal income tax – All individuals receiving employment income for working in Angola are subject to income tax. Taxable income includes all employment income, like wages, salaries, leave payments, fees, gratuities, bonuses, premiums or allowances paid or granted b reason of employment, in cash or check. Director’s fees are usually treated as individual taxable income, regarded in the same way as compensation income. Under the tax reform, members of the boards of Angolan companies will always be considered as residents in Angola for tax purposes. Employer withholding satisfies income taxes on employees, and employees do not need to file returns. No resident individuals are assessed on only Angolan source income. The employer or other payer withholds the amount due and is liable for the tax (somalipress. com). Intellectual Property: Angola’s legal system is very inefficient, and corruption plays a major roll in that. Legal fees are high, and most businesses avoid taking commercial disputes to court. The state owns all land, but long term renewable leases are available for most urban and some non urban land. Property registration is a long process and very expensive. Angola is ranked 114th out of 155 countries in the 2009 International Property Rights Index (heritage. org). The Ministry of Industry protects trademarks, patents, and designs under Law 3/92. The Minister of Culture administers Law 4//90, protecting authorship, literary, and artistic rights. Angola is part of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) convention, as well as the Paris convention for the protection of Industrial Property and the patent Cooperation Treaty (overseasnews. nsf). Tariff: Import tariffs are based on the cost, insurance, and freight value of goods at the point of entry. Here is a look at Angola’s tariffs for textiles, apparel, footwear, and travel goods. Tariff Rate Range (%) -silk |2 | |-wool |2 | |-cotton |2 | |-other vegetable fiber |2 | |-man-made fiber |2 | |-silk |5 | |-wool |5 | |-cotton |5 | |-other vegetable fiber |5 | |-man-made fiber |5 | |.. | | |Knit Fabric |5 | | | |Non Woven Fabric |5 | | | | |Industrial Fabric |2 5 | | | | |Apparel |15 | | | | |Home Furnishings |5 15 | |including: bed, bath, kitchen linens, etc. | | | | |Carpet |20 | | | | |Footwear |0 12 | | | | |Travel Goods |20 | (new. nsf. com) Angola’ s weighted average tariff rate was 7. 3 percent in 2008. Despite progress in trade reform, restrictions on some imports, variable and high customs fees and taxes, import licensing, government import authorizations, the regulatory environment, subsides, inadequate customs capacity, and issues involving enforcement of intellectual property rights add to the cost of trade (heritage. org). [pic](Tradingeconomics. com) Technical Infrastructure: Infrastructure has been ruined due to the extensive warfare. Millions of land minds were set, and there has been little effort to remove them. These landmines are not only destroying roads and hampering the process of putting up new buildings, but are killing civilians. There are 11,903. miles of paved roads and 1,834. 4 miles of rail tracks. There are 32 airports with paved runways and 217 with unpaved runways (nationalencyclopedia. com). Transportation: Transportation has taken the biggest hit from the war. More than 60 percent of the paved road network needs repair. The government estimates that it will take 10-15 years to restore the road network to how it was before the war. The economic sectors will not be able to grow with the road, railway, and bridge networks being up and running. They link the main cities in the country and get protects from one end of the country to the other (nationalencyclopedia. com). [pic] (google. com) Phone system: Telecom dominated the phone industry for fixed lines until 2005. Demand however, outstripped capacity, prices were high, and service was poor. Telecom Namibia, through an Angolan company, became the first private licensed operator in Angola’s fixed line telephone network. By 2010 the number of fixed line providers had expanded to 5; Angola Telecom established mobile-cellular service in Luanda in 1993 and the network had been extended to larger towns. There are only about two fixed lines for every 100 people; combined fixed lines and mobile cellular lines are about 65 telephones per 100 persons in 2009 (cia. gov). Angola Information on Economic Freedom | Facts, Data, Analysis, Charts and More. Conservative Policy Research and Analysis | The Heritage Foundation. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. . Angola Infrastructure, Power, and Communications, Information about Infrastructure, Power, and Communications in Angola. Encyclopedia of the Nations Information about Countries of the World, United Nations, and World Leaders. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. . Angola Investment Guides Angolan Investment Profile. Somali Press. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. . CIA The World Factbook. Welcome to the CIA Web Site - Central Intelligence Agency. 9 Nov. 2010. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. . (OTEXA) Market Reports/Tariffs. Market Reports/Tariffs. 11 Nov. 2009. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. 9