House of Representatives Adopts Amending Finance Bill 35.20 for Fiscal Year 2020 Following Introduction of Changes
The House of Representatives adopted by a majority of votes, in late evening on Monday, July 13th, 2020, Amending Finance Bill 35.20 for the fiscal year 2020. The adoption took place in a plenary sitting chaired by Speaker of House of Representatives Habib El Malki and attended by Minister of Economy, Finance, and Administration Reform Mohamed Benchaâboun.
The House of Representatives convened four plenary sittings of an estimated total of eight hours, devoted to presenting, examining, and discussing the two sections of the Bill, and hearing the response of the Minister on the comments of the parliamentary groups and caucus before voting on the entire text of the Bill.
The deputies contributed actively to enriching the Bill and scrutinizing its aspects, both at the level of general and detailed discussion. In this respect, the Finance and Economic Development Committee held six meetings in four days, with a total of 24 hours and 30 minutes of work. The meetings were marked by the distinguished participation of the deputies. They were also an opportunity to evaluate the sectoral Government policies and programs and to implement the provisions of the Organic Law on Finance.
The deputies of the majority and the opposition proposed 75 amendments, 11 of which were approved. Also, and following Article 212 of the Rules of Procedure of the House, the deputies filed requests to access additional information and data to advance and deepen the parliamentary discussion of the Bill.
During their discussion of the Bill, the parliamentary groups and caucus noted that the Bill comes in a national context marked by the persistence of the health crisis emanating from COVID-19, and its increasing social and economic repercussions. These repercussions dictated reviewing the priorities established in the 2020 Finance Act and adopting an Amending Finance Act for the year.
The deputies praised the solidarity, unity, and responsibility shown by the Moroccan people under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI. They also commended the creation of the Economic Monitoring Committee and the precautionary measures that our country took to contain the pandemic and protect citizens' health, especially the Royal initiative of creating a special fund to manage the coronavirus pandemic.
In addition, the members of the House of Representatives focused on the importance of increasing the budget of public investment, which should generate wealth and create job positions. They also stressed the urgency of finding solutions to revive the national economy. In this respect, they stressed the importance of promoting local industries and investments, and prioritizing scientific research, and rationalizing public expenditures. They also called for supporting private investments and providing special assistance to rural areas and vulnerable groups.
The 2020 Amending Finance Bill was marked by qualitative additions suggested by deputies, including income, corporate, and value-added taxes, and registration fees. The additions aim to limit the pandemic's economic and social repercussions on some categories of workers, enterprises, and investors in the private sector.
It should be noted that Amending Finance Bill 35.20 for the fiscal year 2020 is the first amending finance bill following the entry into force of Organic Law 130.13 on the Finance Act in 2016. The Bill focuses on accompanying the gradual restart of economic activities, protecting job positions, and speeding up the implementation of administrative reforms.