Morocco to Impose Tax on Tech Giants Google, Facebook, and GAFA Companies

The announcement was made by government spokesman Mustapha El Khalfi, according to whom "the digital giants are reaping huge profits from the Moroccan market through advertising but without paying taxes, which undermines fair competition between national companies and the GAFA."

For his part, the Ministry of Commerce, still according to the minister, wishes to put in place a regulatory framework for the digital sector that applies to the web giants, as has already been done in several European countries, including France and Germany, before likely a harmonization at the European level.

Last year, the Office of Foreign Exchange and the Directorate General of Taxes (DGI) had already taken the first step by setting up a commission that was to work on the modalities to be applied for the taxation of Facebook and Google’s advertising revenues. Only one meeting has been held since then and no decision has been made.

Today, Google and Facebook’s market share in online advertising in Morocco is estimated at more than 50%, the other half being held by local and international companies.