Morocco Considers Taxing Tech Giants Facebook and Google

The kingdom is considering following the lead of several countries by imposing taxes on Internet giants, notably Google and Facebook. The Treasury (TGR) is recording a huge shortfall compared to the turnover generated by the two giants, especially since the country is ranked fifth in Africa in terms of the number of users.

To limit unfair competition with local providers, the tax authorities will first assess the gains made from Moroccan users. The objective is to succeed in taxing Facebook and Google as some countries, including the United States, France, Australia or Indonesia, have already done.

The generalization of advertising through social networks has led to the domination of the Internet giants, as evidenced by Facebook’s record profits. Last year, they amounted to more than 3 billion dirhams in the first quarter alone, even exceeding Wall Street’s forecasts.