Rabat — Mobilizing financial resources for local authorities is one of the main challenges to be tackled in the regionalization process that Morocco has undertaken, Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit told Parliament on Tuesday.

Speaking at the House of Councillors' question session, Laftit noted that his department had taken several measures to strengthen the fiscal resources of local authorities, enabling them to exercise their prerogatives.

In this regard, he mentioned the enactment of Law No. 07.20, amending and complementing Law No. 47.06 on local government taxation, noting that this legislative text includes provisions aimed at developing a local tax system to increase and enhance the revenues of local authorities, by expanding the scope of the housing tax, the municipal services tax, the tax on undeveloped urban land, including regions covered by development plans, as well as the application of a tax on the land subdivision operations of local authorities.

Laftit also emphasized that the Ministry supports local authorities in developing their action plans to expand the tax base in order to mobilize their own resources, in addition to supporting the collection process and revising tax decisions when necessary.

Local authorities also receive support in implementing several projects, such as the gradual implementation of the chart of accounts for local authorities as part of the reform process aimed at strengthening good governance and transparency, as well as standardizing the financial management procedures of local authorities, he added.

Following economic transformations and in order to meet the needs of citizens, Laftit pointed out that the Ministry is working to allocate financial resources to these authorities by annually increasing their share of value-added tax revenues. For instance, the total shares allocated to local authorities in 2024 saw an increase of approximately 15 to 20%.