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Join on Telegram Rabat – The Moroccan House of Representatives approved on Tuesday the postponement of two bills on tax and financial information exchange agreements, with the aim of protecting the interests of the Moroccan diaspora community residing abroad.
The House of Representatives made the unanimous decision in a legislative plenary session, relating to Bill No. 76.19 on the multilateral agreement on exchanging declarations between authorities of different countries, and Bill No. 77.19 on the automatic exchange of financial and tax information.
The bills were referred back to the Committee of Foreign Affairs, National Defense, Islamic Affairs, and Moroccans Residing Abroad, pending further negotiations with the government regarding concerns the Moroccan diaspora has raised.
In a letter sent to the House of Representatives, the chairwoman of the committee Nadia Bouaida indicated that during the committee’s meeting, all members expressed reservations about certain articles in the bills, citing questions and concerns raised by members of the Moroccan diaspora.
The committee members argued that approving the bills in their current form could potentially harm the interests of the Moroccan community residing abroad.
As per Article 192 of the internal regulations, both bills were sent back to the committee, and their examination was deferred until the government revises the contentious articles that may adversely affect the interests of Moroccans living abroad, Bouaida said.
Read also: Moroccan Diaspora: An Elevating Force for Morocco’s Development
Once the revisions are made, the bills will remain with the commission until a new formulation is reached.
Speaking to the press following the plenary session, the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccans Residing Abroad, Nasser Bourita, emphasized that despite Morocco’s commitment to international efforts against tax evasion, terrorist financing, and money laundering, the government will not “take any measures that undermine the rights of the Moroccan community abroad.”
“Whatever the worries, observations, and concerns, they must be taken into account, and no agreement can be approved without guarantees that the rights of the community will not be infringed,” Bourita stressed.
Meanwhile, MP Fouzi Lekjaa said that the decision to delay the approval of the two bills, initially signed on June 25, 2019, aims to open negotiations to dispel any ambiguity or misinterpretation in the readings.
Stressing that Morocco is fully committed to combating terrorist financing and money laundering, Lekjaa assured that the interests of the diaspora will not be compromised.
