Morocco’s Tax Data Sharing Deal Sparks Backlash from Expat Community

With the signing of the banking data exchange agreement, Moroccans residing abroad who have purchased real estate in Morocco are now required to pay fines in several European countries. Faced with this situation, according to Assabah, the Secretary General of the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME), Abdallah Boussouf, denounced the ministers of the El Othmani government for working without adequate knowledge. "Perhaps the government did not know the repercussions of this agreement on the situation of the Moroccan community abroad. Because before approving and concluding this agreement, the Executive had not carried out a study on its impact on society and Moroccans residing abroad," he lamented.

In this sense, it is essential that government members become aware of the sociological studies provided by the CCME since its creation, before concluding certain agreements, he stressed. If today European countries are imposing fines on Moroccans living abroad, it is due to this banking data exchange convention signed between Morocco and the OECD countries.

This is also the reason why the CCME prioritizes research in the social sciences, given their important role in the development of public policies through the changes experienced by Moroccans living abroad. Thus, to implement an effective public policy, it is necessary to study the changes in the field of immigration through the sociological investigations on the ground, concluded Abdellah Boussouf.