House of Representatives Adopts by Majority of Votes the 2023 Finance Bill

The House of Representatives adopted, on Friday, November 11, 2022, by a majority of votes, Finance Bill 50.22 for the fiscal year 2023. The adoption occurred during a legislative plenary sitting chaired by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami. The sitting featured the participation of the Minister of Economy and Finance, Ms. Nadia Fettah Alaoui; the Minister Delegate to the Minister of Finance in Charge of the Budget, Mr. Faouzi Lekjaa; the Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication, Mr. Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid; and the Minister Delegate to the Head of the Government in Charge of Relations with the Parliament and Government Spokesperson, Mr. Mustapha Baïtas. 

During the sitting, which was devoted to the presentation of the reports of the Standing Committees on sectorial budgets and the discussion and vote of the second part of the Bill and its entire tenure, 175 Representatives voted for the 2023 Finance Bill, while 66 voted against, and two abstained from voting. 

Since the referral of the 2023 Finance Bill on October 20, 2022, the Finance and Economic Development Committee and the other Standing Committees held ten meetings, the duration of which amounted to 37 hours. The meetings featured 500 questions by Representatives and 131 interventions. The Bill was also subject to general discussion by Representatives on its general orientations and aspects, in addition to the measures to implement its provisions.

During the general and in-depth discussions, Representatives contributed significantly to the amelioration of the Bill as they proposed 214 amendments to the first and second parts of the Bill. In the same respect, they presented several remarks to the Government intended to advance the economic and social situation of the Kingdom and give priority to the social aspect amidst the current juncture. 

It should be noted that the Government elaborated the 2023 Finance Bill based on several scenarios, including the increase of external demand (except for phosphates and its derivatives) by 2.5%, an agricultural crop of around 75 million quintals, an average gas price of 800$/ton, and an average euro-to-dollar exchange rate of 1.044. The Government also foresees a development rate of 4%, a budget deficit of 4.5% of the GDP, and an inflation rate of 2%.