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Tax and Social Security Contributions

8 September 2026

1. What Are Taxes and Social Security Contributions?

Taxes and social security contributions are mandatory deductions from earned income.

Two words capture the entire meaning:

The word What it implies
Mandatory They are not negotiable, neither between the employer and the employee nor with the government
On earned income The tax base is the salary: no salary paid, no contributions

2. The employer’s role: collector, not merely a payer

Malian law requires employers to withhold contributions at source and remit them to the relevant government agencies.

This is a two-part obligation, and failing to fulfill either part constitutes a violation:

Stage The Obligation What happens if it is not fulfilled
1. Withholding at source Deduct the tax from the employee’s wages before payment The employee receives an amount to which they are not entitled
2. Remittance Forward the withheld amount to the appropriate government agency The employer holds funds that do not belong to them

The key point to understand: With regard to these amounts, the employer is not a taxpayer—the employer is a collector. The withheld money was never the employer’s, and it no longer belongs to the employee—it is simply passing through payroll.

This explains the strict nature of the rules: withholding without remitting is not the same as paying late, but rather as retaining another person’s property.

3. The Two Channels

Taxes follow two distinct paths, which must not be confused.

                    LE SALAIRE
                         |
            +------------+------------+
            |                         |
            v                         v
    CHARGES FISCALES          CHARGES SOCIALES
            |                         |
            v                    +----+----+
        LE FISC                  |         |
            |                    v         v
            v                  INPS      CANAM
     Reversement aux
  differents beneficiaires

3.1 Taxes

These are paid to the tax authorities, which then distribute them to the various beneficiaries.

Note the intermediary role: the employer pays only one entity—the tax authority—which then redistributes the funds. It is the tax authority that handles the distribution, not the company.

3.2 Social Security Contributions

These are paid to the social security agencies, of which there are two:

Agency Full Name
INPS National Institute of Social Security
CANAM National Health Insurance Fund

Here, there are no intermediaries: the employer pays each agency directly.

3.3 The difference in a nutshell

Taxes Social security contributions
Payee The tax authorities INPS and CANAM
Number of contacts One Two
Who handles the distribution afterward? The tax authorities Each agency, for its own specific purpose

Why this distinction is practical—and not just theoretical. It determines to whom the company reports and pays. A mistake in routing payments is not inconsequential: a sum paid in the correct amount but to the wrong agency still constitutes a failure to fulfill obligations toward the agency that received nothing.

The essentials in 4 points

  1. Taxes and social security contributions are mandatory deductions based on earned income.
  2. Malian law imposes a dual obligation on employers: to withhold at source and then remit the amounts.
  3. Taxes go to the tax authority, which then redistributes them to the beneficiaries.
  4. Social security contributions go directly to the two social security agencies: the INPS and the CANAM.
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