A perceptible change in Morocco’s tax governance led the EU to append the country in its “Green List”.
Rabat – The General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM) has expressed satisfaction with the European Union’s decision to remove Morocco from its “gray list” of non-cooperative countries. The decision recognizes Morocco’s adoption of good governance and transparency in terms of tax management.
CGEM said that the new decision is a new asset that will highly contribute to the expansion of international investments in Morocco while also forging economic partnerships between Moroccan companies and their European partners.
In a press release, CGEM noted Morocco’s commitment to enhancing its tax transparency to meet international tax norms.
On Monday, a spokesperson of the European Commission announced the removal of Morocco from the EU’s “gray list.”
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The gray list is the intermediary phase between the EU’s “green list” and “black list.” The black list regroups countries that the EU considers as “non-cooperative jurisdictions,” meaning that their tax systems do not comply with the European Commission’s fair competition and transparency criteria.
The green list refers to countries whose tax systems are in compliance with EU standards, making them eligible for import-export deals with EU countries. Meanwhile, the gray list tracks the progress of countries where governments are taking concrete steps to implement EU recommendations.
Morocco corrected two preferential tax regimes in its fiscal law in early 2020. The EU Commission granted Morocco a deadline extension in February 2020, urging the country to effectively meet its recommendations in order to be saved from the black list.
Morocco’s recent upgrade to the “green list” means the country has put its February deadline extension to good use. Morocco has been in the EU “grey list” since 2017.
The EU recently identified several countries that did not make progress in adjusting their tax system in line with its criteria, including Turkey.
It has threatened to put Turkey on its “black list” if the Turkish government does meet the international tax standards by the end of this year.
