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Fez – The majority of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Moroccan parliament, approved on November 13 a number of amendments to the 2022 budget bill (PLF). A majority of 206 voted for the revision, while 67 were against.
A number of amendments were previously approved by the Committee of Finance and Economic Development in the House of Representatives on November 09.
Nadia Fettah Alaoui, Minister of Economy and Finance, stated that of the 129 revisions suggested for the first phase of this project, 20 were dropped and 31 were given the green light.
The main amendments adopted concern the extension of the tax base of the solidarity contribution to profits for 2022, as well as the reduction of the corporate tax rate for industrial companies from 28% to 26% (instead of 27%).
In addition, the minimum tax rate was reduced from 0.45 percent to 0.40 percent. The profit margin coefficient for the hairdressing and cosmetics business has been reduced from 30% to 20%, while that for the trade of Tabasco was reduced from 4% to 3%. Horse dealing was also included in the list of “trade and private operations,” which are subject to a 4% tax.
The enacted modifications also extend for the first time the income tax (IR) exemption for wages given to employees until December 31, 2022. Import tariffs on PET plastic were decreased from 10% to 2.5 percent, and import duties on tubes and bulbs were applied at a rate of 17.5 percent rather than 40%.
Domestic consumption taxes (ICT) on electrically powered objects, appliances, and equipment will be phased in overtime, as will ICT components for electronic devices and car batteries.
In addition, these amendments allow organizations working to mitigate the effects of natural disasters to receive subsidies from the Fund for Combating Natural Disasters, as well as directing revenue from ICT applicable to electronic devices and vehicle batteries to the Fund for Supporting Social Cohesion.
According to Fettah Alaoui, Morocco’s budget bill for 2022 is centered on three priorities: employment, health, and education. These areas received billions of dirhams in additional funding from the PLF.
Turning to the price increases mentioned in the new amendments, Alaoui argued that social policy and citizens’ purchasing power are two of the government’s main concerns for the coming year. “On top of the [government’s] orientations for this project are the social sectors and the preservation of the purchasing power of citizens,” she said.
