Tangier’s Real Estate Slump Threatens City Budget

Budget data reveals that taxes and fees related to urban planning and real estate exploitation have brought in more than 503 million dirhams to the Tangier municipality this year. However, this figure marks a sharp decline compared to the previous year, when revenues amounted to more than 525 million dirhams.

The breakdown of these revenues shows the contribution of various taxes. The tax on undeveloped urban land generated 115 million dirhams. Construction operations brought in around 60 million, while subdivisions contributed 12 million. This is in addition to the housing tax (20 million) and, above all, the tax on municipal services, which represents the largest share with 280 million dirhams.

These 503 million dirhams confirm the weight of the real estate sector in the city’s finances, particularly in a context of strong urban expansion. The municipality does not intend to stop there and aims to bring these revenues to 540 million dirhams next year. To achieve this, it plans to improve tax control and expand the tax base, particularly by including undeclared properties.

This objective of increasing own-source revenues is all the more important as the municipality must face significant debts. A significant portion of this debt comes from judgments related to the expropriation of land necessary for the realization of public projects, making the securing of stable and sustainable revenues essential to finance future urban developments.