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In Morocco, the tax on superprofits will not see the light of day. The idea had however made its way in this Maghreb country strongly shaken by the global repercussions linked to the war in Ukraine. Claimed by the opposition, mentioned by several ministers after the call of the UN Secretary General, in August, to tax profits “scandalous” made by the energy majors on the back of inflation, the measure was eventually buried. It does not appear in the draft finance law (PLF) 2023 adopted on October 19 in the government council and currently being debated in Parliament.
Overall, this first roadmap of the government led by businessman Aziz Akhannouch – sworn in on October 7, 2021 – is criticized by opposition parties and unions for its lack of commitment to purchasing power. Moroccans, at a time when the rise in prices (+8% in one year), strongly penalizes the working classes and aggravates social inequalities. It also revives the case against the government for favoring the economic elite and embodying the collusion between political power and the business world.
“Liberal Right”
“To require hydrocarbon distributors, but also banks or insurance companies, to share their exceptional gains with the community, as some countries have done, would have been a strong signal of solidarity to the population”, defend Abdeslam Seddiki, member of the Progress and Socialism Party (PPS) and former Minister of Employment. “But we have a liberal right-wing government that pursues liberal policies. His class affiliation means that he cannot go against his interests,” he regrets.
“No opposition amendment to reduce the impact of the price hike and make the winners of the crisis contribute has been accepted, this is unprecedented”, deplores Mustapha Ibrahimi, deputy of the Justice and Development Party (PJD), who points out the ” conflicts of interest ” within the executive. Aziz Akhannouch, in particular, the country’s first private fortune according to the magazine Forbes and main shareholder of Afriquia, leader on the local hydrocarbons market with Total and Shell, is accused by its detractors of profiting from the explosion in prices at the pump.
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