By Louceni Compaoré, Ouagadougou.
The tax squeeze tightens in Ouagadougou. In 2026, the authorities of Burkina Faso implement a major tightening of the VAT collection system: the withholding tax officially increases from 20% to 30%.
This decision follows a 2025 already marked by unprecedented tax pressure on taxpayers. The General Tax Directorate, the country’s main revenue agency, had intensified its collection and control operations.
The numbers speak for themselves:
- 18,494 warning notices issued,
- 34,823 collection notices,
- 88,377 reminders sent to delinquent taxpayers,
- 2,974 third-party notices transmitted,
- 8,233 tax investigations conducted,
- 3,631 tax audits carried out.
Never before had the Burkinabe tax administration deployed such a wide range of measures to secure its revenues.
With the increase of the VAT withholding tax to 30%, the State is taking a new step. The objective is clear: to improve domestic resource mobilization, reduce tax evasion, and ensure a more immediate tax collection, in a context of tight budget constraints.
For businesses, especially SMEs and actors in the informal sector undergoing formalization, this measure represents a potential cash flow shock. The increase in upstream deductions may impact margins, liquidity, and investment capacity.
Beyond the technical aspect, this change reflects an intentional strategy: to make taxation a central pillar of public financing, in an environment marked by dwindling external aid and security constraints.
After a 2025 under close fiscal scrutiny, 2026 is shaping up to be the year of budget consolidation through constraint. For Burkinabe taxpayers, the message is clear: fiscal tolerance now belongs to the past.
