The US and the EU must work with African governments to harmonize gold export taxes to reduce smuggling and promote conflict-free gold, says the investigative and policy group The Sentry. Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Central African Republic (CAR) and Cameroon are the states that most urgently need to tackle the issue, says The Sentry’s report published in February. Uganda and Cameroon have substantially lower gold taxes than exist in the DRC or the CAR, which makes it much more profitable to smuggle gold to those countries, the report finds. The report estimates that $4 billion in high-risk gold from central and east Africa flows to international markets every year, including to the US, India, the Middle East, Europe and China. The trade in conflict gold will never be eliminated, but better due diligence by governments and the private sector can reduce it significantly while promoting the responsible artisanal gold trade, The Sentry argues.
SOURCE: THE AFRICAN REPORT
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