Morocco is slashing subsidies on commodities as it seeks to raise taxes in a move aimed at curbing the fiscal deficit.
According to the draft of the Moroccan government budget, the fiscal deficit is expected to stabilize at 3.5 percent of GDP in the 2020 budget.
The government will reduce the cost of subsidizing sugar, semolina and cooking gas to 13.6 billion dirhams ($1 = 9.6 dirhams) in 2020, from 18 billion this year. Budget allocations for education will increase to DH 72.4 billion, while the health allocations will jump to DH 18.6 billion.
The draft shows that the estimate, which is approaching Morocco to achieve its goal of reaching the debt ratio to 3 percent in the medium term, is based on the expectation of privatization revenues of 3 billion dirhams ($313 million). Other factors affecting the deficit in 2020 are the cost of raising public sector wages, estimated at 6 billion dirhams, and allocating 26 billion dirhams to boost the purchasing power of the poor.
Source (Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed Newspaper, Edited)
