Morocco Cracks Down on Unpaid Urban Land Taxes, Minister Orders Action

The Minister of the Interior has also instructed tax collectors to activate the procedures for seizure and forced recovery against large real estate companies in the municipalities of the Casablanca-Settat region, some of which owe arrears. Laftit issued these directives following the publication of reports indicating the worrying slowness of the tax authorities in recovering the tax on "vacant land", as well as the arrears owed by individuals and companies.

These reports also revealed suspicions of political favoritism, accusing large landowners sitting on municipal councils of not paying this tax. Similarly, several municipalities are slow to set up commissions responsible for determining the tax base in their jurisdictions and notifying the taxpayers concerned of the billions of arrears accumulated over several years. The reports also highlighted other dysfunctions in the management and regularization of local taxes and fees.

However, some municipalities have achieved performance in terms of recovery by calling on the services of specialized lawyers and bailiffs; which has contributed to the increase in the tax revenues of the municipalities. In a correspondence addressed to the walis and governors, the litigation service of the local institutions department of the general directorate of local authorities has requested information on the amounts paid to landowners under judgments rendered against local authorities in disputes related to the tax on undeveloped urban land.