Rabat Cafes and Restaurants Launch 72-Hour Strike Over Tax Hikes and Public Space Fees

New tensions between the city of Rabat and cafe and restaurant owners. This is due to the decision of the City Council to increase the tax on beverages by 50/70 DH, the domain fees which reach 525 dirhams per square meter, payable every 3 months, but also the call made to cafe and restaurant owners to pay the taxes related to the occupation of public space. In case of non-payment of taxes, the competent authorities will proceed to the seizure of their property, in accordance with the provisions of the law.

"We received the Council’s decision with concern, especially since it penalizes our activity which is struggling to recover after three years of consecutive crisis," complains a cafe owner in the capital to L’Opinion. He will explain that "his cafe has to pay a sum of up to 100,000 DH every three months, which is in fact an exorbitant sum that would irreparably affect his cash flow, especially in a context marked by a general rise in prices." It is an "ill-considered decision," fumes Noureddine El Harrak, president of the Federation of Cafe and Restaurant Owners of Morocco.

To support his argument, he points out that the increase in the tax on non-alcoholic beverages, which represent a significant part of cafe sales, is likely to increase the prices of these products and therefore penalize the activity of most cafes in the city that rely on the summer season to balance their accounts.

Faced with this situation, cafe and restaurant owners in Rabat have decided to launch a 72-hour strike soon, the date of which has not yet been set. It "has not yet been set and will be the subject of consultations between professionals this week," says a well-informed source.