The Moroccan government is getting ready to enact the fiscal bill for the upcoming fiscal year 2024.
The contextual setting of the new bill is dominated by high prices, the effects of drought, lack of water resources, in addition to the high unemployment rate, issues with education, and social protection programs.
“The Finance Law translates government programs and economic directions,” said Mohammed Chkandi, a professor of economics at Mohammed V University to MoroccoLatestNews.
The Finance Law for 2024, he continued, “comes in a context characterized by the multiplicity of crises at the global level, which are simultaneously economic and geopolitical, characterized by instability at the global level and fluctuations with regard to value-added chains.”
The implementation of the fiscal year 2024 will reflect the government’s efforts to reduce price inflation, enhance purchasing power, create more productive work opportunities, and maintain the nation’s economic balances.
“Morocco is now adjusting to crises by creating public policies with the overarching goal of industrial economic sovereignty and steadfastness. The Finance Law’s directives reflect this perception through strengthening the social state’s pillars, revitalizing the economy, and restoring the tax revenue margins ,” said the economist.
The objectives of lowering inflation and boosting the Moroccan economy have also been endorsed by the Istiqlal party’s Economists’ Alliance suggestions for the 2024 Finance Bill.
The alliance suggested combating food price increases through bolstering the agricultural supply destined for the internal market, allocating quotas for commonly consumed foodstuffs, and subsidizing fertilizers to increase productivity.
The economist noted “the importance of internal financing by adopting internal resources,” considering the possible decline of the global economy due to the financing crisis, which makes global financing more challenging for African countries.
The alliance also recommended quickening the pace of investment, funding the water industry, establishing and running desalination facilities, recycling wastewater, and using water beds responsibly.
In addition, the alliance called for lowering the unemployment rate, particularly in urban areas, by promoting the continued industrial dynamism in sectors that create long-term job opportunities, such as tourism, services, and technology.
The alliance emphasized the need for the government to start an equitable expansion of the tax base through the adoption of taxes on non-productive stocks, including movable and immovable property inside and outside of urban environments.
“It is essential to consider enlarging the tax base and implementing the tax equity concept. Rethinking corporate taxes is necessary, and tax avoidance must be stopped,” said the economist.