Morocco’s Hidden Real Estate Tax Trap: Sellers Face Shock Bills After Property Deals

Many Moroccans claim to have received, in recent weeks, tax revision notices from the tax administration, after having proceeded to sell their real estate. Some of them express their surprise at the imposition of significant additional amounts, which sometimes exceed tens of thousands of dirhams. These revisions are based on the "real estate reference price" set by the tax administration, which is often much higher than the actual market price, thus placing the sellers in a financial impasse, they testify.

"I sold a plot of land a month ago and, after paying all the fees due at the notary’s office, I was surprised to receive a letter from the tax authorities requiring me to pay an additional 50,000 dirhams, simply because the reference price, in the eyes of the administration, is higher than the agreed sale price," says one of them. "In reality, I didn’t gain anything from this transaction, I even risk suffering a heavy loss," he adds. There is a paradox: some public institutions, such as a construction company, sell land at a price lower than the reference value applied by the tax administration, denounces the same source. Thus, this system does not shine by its equity.