Moroccan Expats Urge Halt to Global Tax Info Sharing Agreement

These MREs have asked to meet with parliamentary groups to discuss bill No. 77.19, which will enshrine this requirement of the multilateral agreement signed by Morocco on June 25, 2019 in Paris into legislation. Most of them, who plan to spend their retirement years in Morocco where they own real estate, have expressed their fears about the fiscal exchange which, according to them, would not benefit either Morocco or Moroccans. With this measure, MREs will have to choose between selling all their property in Morocco and living in their country of residence, or vice versa, reports TelQuel.

If the text were to be adopted by parliament, MREs’ fund transfers would also be affected. These transfers have increased from 39.29 billion dirhams in May 2022 to nearly 45.17 billion dirhams at the end of May 2023, an increase of 14.9% (+5.87 billion). These remittances from MREs are important for the families of MREs and for the economy of the kingdom. The bill was the subject of a first reading by the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament in June. It is pending approval.

This bill aims at the automated transmission of financial and tax information between Morocco and the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). According to some observers, Morocco had signed the multilateral agreement to get off the FATF gray list. Will the Moroccan authorities sacrifice the MREs in the name of respecting this agreement?