Sudan Media Forum
By Maab Al-Mirghani
KHARTOUM, August 9, 2025 (Jabraka News) – As Sudan’s markets reel from the devastation of war and economic collapse, Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim has announced a new package of tax policies aimed at “broadening the tax base” to boost the state’s failing revenues.
The plan involves automating the tax system, expanding e-collection, and upgrading the skills of tax sector employees. While the government of Prime Minister Kamil Idris champions these measures as essential fiscal reforms, many traders and business owners view them as another crushing weight on top of the burdens they already carry, following more than two years of war.
This report explores the debate, asking economists, traders, and importers a fundamental question: Are these new taxes a financial lifeline for the “Port Sudan government” or a final straw for its struggling people?
Widespread Public Opposition
The Ministry of Finance justifies the tax expansion by pointing to weak revenues and the state’s urgent need for funds. However, the policy faces widespread public rejection. Many citizens believe the money will not be used to fund services or reconstruction, but will instead be used to fuel the war.
“The war is draining the state, that’s true,” a resident of Northern State told Jabraka News. “But instead of stopping it, they are putting twice the pressure on us with more taxes and levies. We see this as nothing but direct funding for the conflict.” He added, “We reject this, especially in these suffocating conditions where many of us have no salary and struggle for our daily bread.”
This stark disconnect between government policy and the daily suffering of citizens highlights the profound challenges of implementing such reforms in a warzone and raises questions about their ultimate purpose.
An Ill-Timed and Unstudied Move
Mohamed al-Faki, a trader who lost his business in Omdurman and was displaced to Shendi, believes the timing of the new tax policy is disastrous.
“After the war broke out, I left Khartoum with nothing but my 2005 Toyota Corolla,” he told Jabraka News. “I had to sell it just to start over.”
He explains that for traders like him, the market has barely begun to recover. He considers the government’s move ill-conceived, warning it will only worsen the economic reality for those who have already survived so much.
Expert Analysis: A Perilous Reform
Economist Dr. Wael Fahmy acknowledges that the minister’s plan, in theory, is part of a sound and comprehensive reform package. The plan aims to integrate government financial data through modern systems, such as IFMIS and a Treasury Single Account (TSA), to link finance, customs, and commercial registries.
Dr. Fahmy notes the program’s focus is on bringing the vast unregulated sector under the tax umbrella and imposing stricter penalties for evasion. However, he warns that implementing this plan faces immense obstacles.
“Even without the war, the program would face hurdles like a lack of reliable electricity and communication networks,” Dr. Fahmy told Jabraka News. “But the greatest threats are directly linked to the conflict. The Sudanese economy faces potential political partition, with a rival government announced in the west. The RSF siege of El Fasher and its control of other economically vital areas have shrunk the formal economy, which will inevitably limit the revenue this plan can hope to generate.”
“Then there is the challenge of the informal sector itself,” he continued. “It has exploded out of necessity due to the war, becoming the main engine of the economy. But it operates entirely off the books. This presents a true dilemma: How can tax authorities possibly assess the financial activity of millions of people who exist outside the formal banking and legal systems?”
Dr. Fahmy also pointed to rampant tax evasion even within the formal private sector, often aided by political connections. “This, combined with the international financial siege and massive-scale smuggling of goods like food and minerals across our borders, undermines the entire program,” he explained. “So while the plan is good in principle, the challenges are not merely technical. They are structural, tied to the very nature of the war and the disintegration of the state.”
A Crushing Weight on Imports
Haitham al-Tijani, the former Secretary-General of the Importers’ Chamber, warned that the new taxes will have a direct and negative impact on imports, driving up the cost of essential goods such as food and medicine.
“Every tax increase is immediately passed on to the final consumer,” al-Tijani said. “Many small importers have already been forced out of the market, unable to meet the new tax obligations.” He predicts this will fuel inflation and encourage a boom in cross-border smuggling as traders seek to avoid the high fees.
Al-Tijani criticized the government for a lack of consultation with businesses and for volatile, confusing policies from multiple bodies like the Ministry of Finance, Customs, and the Central Bank. He also cited the fluctuating “customs dollar” exchange rate, the collapse of supply chains, and rampant insecurity on roads and at ports as crippling challenges.
This environment, he said, creates unfair competition from the untaxed informal sector and threatens the availability of vital goods. “Government promises to exempt strategic goods remain vague and unimplemented,” he noted. “There are no effective mechanisms to protect these supplies or support the most vulnerable people.”
“What Should We Do?”
Small business owners echo these frustrations. Hassan Osman, a shop owner in Omdurman, says new fees are imposed almost monthly.
“We don’t know what they want from us,” he told Jabraka News. “We survived two years of a brutal war, and now the government is waging a new war on us with these high taxes. It’s like they want to finish us off completely. What are we supposed to do?”
Al-Tijani concluded with a stark warning: “The current environment requires serious structural reforms that include transparency, private sector empowerment, and regulating the parallel market. Continuing with these policies will only lead to more chaos and drive even more business away from official channels.”
