Morocco Cracks Down on Unpaid Taxes for Second Homes, Owners Face Large Bills

This operation, carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior and the National Land Registry Agency, has made it possible to target defaulting taxpayers, particularly in major cities like Casablanca, Agadir and Tangier, reports Hespress.

Faced with these notifications, often accompanied by amounts deemed "excessive" by the owners, sometimes exceeding 30,000 dirhams, many have contested these claims with the regional tax services.

To try to curb these unpaid taxes and strengthen the revenues of local authorities, a new measure will be introduced from July 1, 2024. Henceforth, any real estate transaction will require a tax clearance certificate proving the payment of local taxes, in particular the property tax, the cleanliness tax and the taxes on unbuilt land.

This initiative is part of a global strategy of the Ministry of the Interior to improve tax governance and broaden the tax base. The tax administration, while being firm with bad payers, favors amicable solutions and negotiations to find sustainable solutions, the same source specifies.