Baitas: Tax Amnesty Declarations Reach MAD 127 Billion, Exceeding Expectations

Doha – Morocco’s tax amnesty program has generated MAD 127 billion ($12.7 billion) in declared assets, with direct revenue of MAD 6 billion ($600 million) for the state treasury, government spokesperson Mustapha Baitas announced on Thursday.

Speaking at a press conference following the government council meeting, Baitas described the operation as “extremely fruitful,” with results “far exceeding initial expectations.” The program targeted individuals who had not declared taxable profits and income in Morocco before January 1, 2024.

The amnesty scheme applied to various assets, including bank deposits, cash holdings, movable and immovable property not intended for professional use, and advances in partner current accounts or operating accounts and loans granted to third parties.

According to Le Monde’s analysis, the declared amount represents “a quarter of the cash in circulation in Morocco, estimated at around MAD 430 billion by the country’s central bank.”

The French newspaper noted that this amnesty’s success far surpasses the previous 2020 program, being “twenty times higher.” For comparison, Le Monde pointed out that “France’s tax amnesty between 2014 and 2017 resulted in regularizing €32 billion over four years.”

The newspaper reported that bank deposits alone accounted for MAD 60 billion ($6 billion) of the declarations, with the remainder coming from real estate acquisitions and contributions to current accounts.

Approximately 10,000 “spontaneous” declarations generated 40% of the regularized amount, averaging MAD 4 million ($400,000) per declaration, with one individual declaring MAD 280 million ($28 million).

In a separate but related development, the Exchange Office reported that the foreign asset amnesty program, which concluded recently, resulted in declarations totaling MAD 2 billion ($200 million) across 658 declarations.

Financial assets constituted 45% of declared foreign holdings at MAD 916.2 million ($91.62 million), followed by real estate at MAD 868.3 million ($86.83 million), and liquid assets at MAD 244.7 million ($24.47 million).

The government implemented the amnesty with a preferential tax rate of 5% for declarations made in 2024, compared to the standard 37% rate that would apply in 2025. This initiative was part of the 2024 Finance Law, with banks actively promoting its benefits throughout the year.