By Staff Writer | Monrovia, Liberia
Integrity Watch Liberia (IWL) has called on the Government and the National Legislature to ensure Liberia’s proposed FY2027 National Budget of approximately US$1.539 billion does not place an unfair burden on women, low-income households, and small businesses.
The call was made on Thursday at the IWL office in Monrovia, where IWL Executive Director Harold Marvin Aidoo addressed members of the press to present the organization’s independent gender-responsive assessment of the draft budget.
While the organization supports government’s drive to mobilize more domestic revenue, Aidoo said the pursuit of higher revenue must be guided by fairness and equity.
“The success of revenue mobilization cannot be measured solely by how much the Government collects. It must also be measured by who pays, whether the burden is fairly distributed and whether the resources collected improve people’s lives,” Aidoo told journalists.
Sharp Jump in Tax Projections
According to IWL’s assessment, government is projecting core domestic revenue of approximately US$1.352 billion for FY2027, up from US$1.182 billion in FY2026.
Tax revenue alone is projected to jump from US$752.72 million to US$1.072 billion — an increase of about US$319.8 million, or 42.5%.
Taxes on international trade are also projected to rise by 49.4%, from US$280.77 million to US$419.39 million.
IWL says it is not yet clear whether the additional revenue will come from improved compliance among large taxpayers and reduced leakages, or from increased pressure on ordinary consumers, market women, and informal traders.
The proposed measures include the transition from Goods and Services Tax (GST) to Value Added Tax (VAT), a minimum excise on digital financial services, reforms in property valuation, and enhanced electronic tax invoicing and customs controls.
Aidoo warned that many women depend on small-scale trading and agriculture, and that higher transaction costs and higher prices could eat into their already thin profit margins.
“Mobile money has become an important financial tool for market traders, rural households and small businesses. Any additional taxation of digital financial services must be carefully designed to avoid discouraging financial inclusion,” he said.
Gender Budgeting Still Weak
IWL acknowledged progress in gender-responsive budgeting, noting that 13 spending entities submitted gender-responsive budget statements for FY2027, compared to nine in FY2026.
However, that represents only about 11% of the 122 spending entities covered by the budget.
The organization also raised concern that many programs labeled as gender-responsive do not have clearly identifiable allocations, beneficiary targets, or measurable results, making it difficult for the public to know how much is actually being spent on gender equality.
The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection is proposed to receive approximately US$7.09 million, up from US$4.06 million in FY2026. IWL welcomed the increase but noted it represents only 0.46% of the total national budget.
IWL called for greater transparency on how much of that money goes to administration versus direct services such as prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence, child protection, and women’s economic empowerment.
What IWL Wants
IWL is recommending that the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning and the Liberia Revenue Authority:
- Conduct and publish a comprehensive gender and poverty impact assessment of the proposed revenue measures before implementation
- Ensure tax reforms do not disproportionately burden micro and small businesses
- Protect affordable access to digital financial services
- Strengthen collection from large taxpayers and address tax incentives and illicit financial flows
- Institutionalize gender-responsive budgeting across all spending entities
- Introduce gender budget tagging and expenditure tracking
To the National Legislature, IWL urged lawmakers to demand a detailed explanation for the 42.5% tax increase, hold dedicated gender-responsive budget hearings, review tax incentives, and require regular reporting on who actually benefits from gender-related spending.
“Raise revenue fairly, spend public resources equitably and demonstrate results that improve the lives of all citizens,” Aidoo said.
